Que Sera Sera
by huggyssupreme
Summary: Jen is sucked into the world of FF9. She must find her little brother who can be insensitive and doesn't know a thing about Final Fantasy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, I've been working on this for quite a while and I have in fact been wanting to work on a FF9 story. I love FF9. It's a good game with a nice story. I just hope my story is somewhat good. This one doesn't flow like the others, it's like there's something that I'm trying to get out and it's hard to put it down the way I want it. It'll take some time and I'm willing to continue if I get some reviews.**

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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****Name: Jennifer Davis**

**Nickname: Jen**

**Age: 17**

**Height: 5'2**

**Weight: 105 lbs**

**Hair: Light Brown, curly, medium length**

**Eyes: Emerald (green)**

**Personality: Jen tries to help everyone out, sometimes she'll take on a lot just to make things easier for everyone else. In the past her friends took advantage of her, having her write out 3 seperate essays that were to be turned in the following day. She has a hard time saying 'no' to people who are in need. Jen tries to stand up for herself, tries to prove to people that she is not weak. She doesn't want to be the 'damsel in distress', even though she seems to find herself in that position most of the time. Jen is naive in some situations. She doesn't like to lose people who are close to her and will do anything to protect them. **

**Bio: Jen lost her father when she was 9, he died of cancer. She lost her mother in a car accident. When Jen was 11 years old she had a piano recital and begged her mom to come. On her way to the recital, another on coming car hit her mom killing her on sight. Jen feels responsible for her mother's death but will not admit it to others. After the death of her mother, Jen and her brother Josh were placed into foster care because they had no other living relatives. Their foster parents were mean and quite dysfunctional. She was able to emancipate herself at the age of 16. She is now 17. Because of her age, Jen was not awrded custody of her younger brother but is allowed weekend visitation. Jen has a boyfriend, Ryan (Not sure if I'm going to use him). She feels she must be strong for her little brother, who is 12 years old, she does her best to be happy and doesn't show sadness. Just happiness and anger whenever he ticks her off. **

**Outfit: Blue skinny flare jeans. Hot pink spaghetti tank top. Dark brown Roxy Groovin zip up hoody, with white flowers. Black Skechers E2 Spheric. **

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"I wipe butts for a living and I only get 200 a week, there is definitely something wrong with this." Jen stared at the receipt of her pay check for a few minutes, it was unbelievable. "I thought the Union was actually good for something...Guess not." Jen put the receipt in her purse, she had just cashed it at her bank. She thought about switching to direct deposit, but she didn't want to take a chance of her money slipping out of her account. She trusted Ryan, the love of her life, her boyfriend, she just didn't trust the bank. They always found a way to screw you out of money. Money was what she needed, which was one of the reasons she was having a garage sale tomorrow. Jen got out of her blue car, it was crappy, and it was cheap, but it still ran which was good enough for her. She walked into her trailer, the rent on that was also cheap. Jen was 17 yrs old and was often mistaken for Michelle Trachtenberg. She was emancipated a few months ago and was allowed to take her little brother Josh who was 12 yrs old for the weekends. It was a fight for to even live on her own but she succeeded. Of course a social worker does pop in to check on her, the social worker trusts Jen but doesn't like Ryan.

Jen walked into the living room where she found Ryan stretched out on the couch, and Josh sitting on the floor playing the Playstation, she sat down and layed on top of Ryan, "No Josh, you can't have it, it's going with the other stuff in the garage sale."

Ryan kissed Jen on the cheeks, "Do you remember this game?"

Jen looked to the screen recognizing it, "Oh...yeah, it's Final Fantasy 9, that was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played...Gosh it seems like it was so long ago..."

Ryan laughed, "I know, you used to talk about it non-stop, until you played Final Fantasy 7." Jen sat up, "Josh, put in Final Fantasy 7, I swear to God you'll love it!"

Josh shook his head, "No, I'm busy playing this one..."

Jen looked at the screen, she looked to see how far he was in the game, "Josh it's only the beginning, just save and put in Final Fantasy 7 in."

Josh again shook his head, "No, go away shorty, I'm the one playing, not you." Jen got steamed because one, he was picking on her, two because he wasn't showing her respect. Josh rarely listened to Jen, she always needed Ryan to back her up because Josh would sometimes intimidate her. Jen then got up and reached down for the controller, Josh wouldn't let go and they were then tugging on it back and forth.

Ryan sat up, "Hey don't break that!" He reached down to pull Josh's arm and then suddenly there was a bright light that was beaming out of the television, everyone stopped what they were doing and began shielding their eyes, Ryan shouted, "What the hell? Josh you broke it!"

Josh shouted back to Ryan,"It wasn't me!"

A high pitch sound was then heard by all in the living room, Jen covered her ears, "What's going on? Shut it off!"

Josh crawled over to the Playstation and tried turning it off, "It's not working!"

Jen walked over to the outlet and unplugged the game and T.V. She looked back to the screen, and then to Ryan, "Why isn't it working?"

Ryan shouted louder, the sound was getting to him, "I don't know!"

Jen looked at the screen, she then started pounding on it, she struck the T.V. a third time and her hand went inside the television. Jen tried pulling her hand out but it wasn't working, she turned back to Ryan, "Oh my God! Ryan, my hand is stuck, come help me!" Just as she finished her sentence, the T.V. was pulling her in. Jen looked at the screen and soon there was darkness, _"Oh my God, I was just sucked into the T.V."_ Jen felt as if she were floating, then she felt shocks of electricity zapping and electrocuting her entire body. Jen slowly opened her eyes, it was dark and she was outside, she could hear crickets. She looked around without moving, _"Did I get sucked into the Discovery Channel? Oh please tell me I'm not in Africa, or in some wild forest in the Amazon..."_ The ground was muddy and the grass was damp, as if a huge storm just passed through. It was also dark, so it had to be late.Jen then heard foot steps approaching her, she didn't know what to do, so she closed her eyes, hoping that some indian wasn't going to kill her and also hoped that this whole thing was a dream, a stress related dream. Jen then felt someone shake her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I don't think she's the Princess..."

_"The...Princess...? There aren't any princesses in the wilderness, unless it's Pocahontas...But then why are they speaking English?"_ Jen slowly opened her eyes, she looked up to the man kneeling next to her, he had a bearded face, a red nose and his face looked rather dirty. The face alone was reason enough for Jen to let out a shriek, "Aaah! Oh my God!"

Her reaction startled the man causing him to fall back onto his butt. Another man ran next to him, "What's wrong?"

Jen sat up, _"Oh my God, that's Cinna, and the man next to him is Marcus! Oh my God, what do I do? What do I say!?...Wow Cinna is kind of scary looking..."_ Jen covered her mouth, she thought for a second before saying, "You guys are...bandits!"

Cinna then laughed, Jen glared at him, she quickly picked up a rock and threw it at him and said in a serious tone, the same tone she uses on Josh whenever Josh does something bad, "What's so funny? Don't laugh, I'm not laughing so this isn't funny."

Cinna rubbed the side of his head where the rock had landed, Marcus stifled his laughter, Jen looked at him and Marcus faked a cough, "Ahem, so who are you and what are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Jen looked around, she was alone, Ryan and Josh weren't here, _"Did they get sucked in? or are they still at home staring at the T.V., waiting for me to pop right out?...No, they have to be here, somewhere in this game. If they are, I know Ryan will be fine but Josh doesn't know anything about Final Fantasy, it's not like Grand Theft Auto where you can go around killing people...Hmmmm..."_ Jen looked back up to Marcus, she knew he was still waiting for an answer, "I was trying to hitch a ride on the Prima Vista, and I fell off from the impact when the airship crashed." There was a long pause after Jen gave an answer, Jen wasn't one to lie because she knew that lies always formed into more lies and it was quite hard to keep lies going because a lie can only go so far until the truth comes out.

Marcus looked at Jen deciding if he believed her, he raised an eyebrow, "So why do you need to get to Lindblum?"

Jen, who finally stood up, brushed her pants off and looked at Marcus, "I'm looking for my little brother, we got...separated and now I can't find him."

Marcus looked up to the sky, "Separated huh? any idea where he might be?"

Jen shook her head, "Nope but I know he's not in Alexandria..."

Marcus cut in, "So you think he might be in Lindblum, right? You should go with Zidane, he's thinking about going out to find the Princess, I imagine he'll take her to Lindblum."

Jen had to prevent herself from getting excited, _"Oh my God! I'm going to travel with THE Zidane! I have got to be dreaming! I still can't believe I'm talking to Marcus! This is so awesome!"_ Jen shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, I guess I could go with him, I have to get there somehow."

Cinna then asked, "But can you fight?"

Jen felt like kicking herself, _"That's right! I'm going to have to fight monsters, I don't even know how to wield a weapon!"_ Jen decided to be hoest about this, she smiled and said in a cheery tone, "Nope, I don't even have a weapon."

Marcus and Cinna practically fell over, Cinna was bemused, "What do you mean? Don't tell me you're some Noble who is always cooped up!"

Jen shrugged, "Yeah, something like that."

Marcus scratched his head, "But you don't talk like a Noble, and you certainly don't dress like them."

Jen frowned, "Hey, that's not very nice and my identity doesn't really matter, what matters is that I need to get to Lindblum and I also need a weapon for some kind of defense against the monsters out here."

Cinna smiled, "Well you're in luck, I was able to snag a weapon before we left Alexandria! But it'll cost ya, if you were a member of Tantulas I could give it to ya for free."

Jen searched her pockets, she was able to find a 100.00 bill in her back pocket, she handed that to him, "Is that enough?"

Cinna freaked, "T-that's 100 million Gil!"

Jen looked at it, "It's just a hundred, nothing fancy."

Marcus chuckled, "Nevermind, I think you ARE a noble...Cinna just give her the weapon, give her, her money back, I don't want to get in trouble with the owner of King Mansion, that might be his daughter..."

Cinna looked at Marcus with a confused, almost shocked expression, "I didn't know that guy had a daughter, what does he look like anyway?"

Marcus sighed, "I dunno if she is for sure his daughter, but the fact that she is carrying a fortune could mean she is someone important and if she is, I don't want to cause trouble, we're already in it enough. And I don't even know who the owner of King Mansion is."

Cinna realized what he was saying, "Oh, gotcha." Cinna handed Jen the money back, "C'mon, let's go back to the air ship, I'll introduce you to Zidane and get you your weapon."

Jen took the money back, she smiled, "Okay." _"Yes! I'm finally going to meet Zidane!"_

The walk was short, Jen didn't realize how close she was to the airship. It was still burning from Brahne's assault. That Queen was brutal, she would hate to get on her bad side. _"Guess I already am, seeing how I'm on Zidane's side...This is going to get interesting..."_ Jen stopped in front of the enterance of the ruined airship, a huge man wearing a black mask and white hook gloves was standing before them, _"Now which one is Benero...? They look very similar..."_

The man smiled at Cinna, "Hey, the Boss is looking for you guys." He looked down at Jen, "Who is that?"

Marcus answered, "She's some Noble that wants to go to Lindblum with Zidane."

Benero/Zenero looked down at Jen, "You're crazy, there's nothing but monsters crawling around this forest. But if you wanna see Zidane, now is a good time, I think he's about to leave."

Cinna looked to Jen, "Wait here." He ran inside. As Cinna ran in, Zidane came walking out, following him was a knight and a black mage. Jen knew who they were, and they looked so real, this whole thing seemed real. Seeing them made this real. _"I don't think I'm dreaming anymore..."_

Marcus looked to Zidane, "Hey, we found this Noble in the forest, it seems she wants to go with you."

Zidane looked down at Jen, "I dunno if a pretty thing like you should go with us, it's pretty dangerous."

Jen shook her head, "I have to go and I can't wait."

Zidane shrugged, "Well it seems your mind is made up, what's your name?"

_"Oh my God! Zidane just asked for my name!"_ Jen she was so happy, she never thought something as crazy as this would be so cool, she half smiled, "My name is Jennifer, but call me Jen."

The knight who was standing next to the mage finally spoke up, "This is nonsense, I will not allow you to endanger a Noble."

Zidane retorted, "Are you suggesting we leave her here with the other thieves?"

The knight was silent.

Zidane continued, "That's what I thought, we might need the extra help, we don't know what's out there." Cinna then came walking out, in his arms was a treasure chest.

Zidane looked to Cinna, "Is that for me?"

Cinna shook his head, "Nope, it's for her." He set the chest down on the ground and popped it open, "Since you're new to fighting, I gathered up all the weapons I could find, you're gonna have to choose which one you like."

Zidane's jaw practically dropped, "You mean you've never been in a battle before? Then why do you want to go with us?"

Jen walked over to the chest, she picked up a long chain with a weight on one end and a blade on the other, "I have to go to Lindblum." She looked over to Cinna, "Is this a Kusarigama?"

Cinna nodded his head, "Yup."

Jen then picked up a skinny sword that was pretty light, with the sheath covering it, it almsot resembled a stick, "This is a ronin sword." She unsheathed it, "It's double bladed!"

Zidane let out a small chuckle, "You sure know your weapons."

Jen looked up to Zidane, "Well I read...a lot." _"Lie...I know what it is from watching anime..."_ Jen looked to Cinna, "I would like to take both of them, is that alright?"

Cinna was quite hesitant, but he agreed to let her have them, "You're gonna need some armor." He handed her a black leather shirt, "Put this over your shirt."

Jen took the leather shirt, she took off her brown Roxy sweater revealing her hot pink spaghetti tank top, she slipped the leather shirt on, it fit fine.

Zidane couldn't believe that she changed right in front of them, "Ya know, most Nobles change in private..."

Steiner shoved Zidane, "Fool, show some discretion, she was only trying to hurry so we can quickly save the Princess."

Zidane looked up, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about her. We should get a move on."

Jen nodded her head, she fastened the sheath to the ronin sword around her, and she placed the blade to the kusarigama in the back of her jeans, she looked to Steiner who was grumbling, apparently what Zidane said got him a bit upset, he said as they were now walking, "How dare you forget the Princess!"

Zidane scoffed, "Relax Rusty, I didn't really forget about her, she's too cute."

They walked through this dead tree that was tipped over, and walked into a swamp. Jen looked down to her shoes which were sinking down into the mud, _"I guess I should keep expecting to get dirty..."_ It was pretty quiet except for the croaking of frogs and the sound of branches rubbing against eachother whenever the wind would blow softly, the darkness made the place seem creepy. There was green moss everywhere, they place looked pretty and scary at the same time. They entered a small clearing, it must've been a spring.

Zidane slowed down, "Hmm...no signs of any monsters here." There were two tree stumps, one was big and full of water. The other tree stump was small and it looked like there was something in it. Jen muttered, "That's where the moogle must be..."

Vivi looked to Jen, "Why would there be a moogle?" Zidane walked up to the small stump and looked down inside. A moogle then popped out suprising Zidane, Jen let out a small laugh, she covered her mouth.

Vivi looked at the moogle, "Are you Monty?"

The moogle nodded his head, "Yes kupo!"

Vivi pulled out a letter from his jacket, "This is from Kupo." Monty took the letter and read it.

Jen knew what the letter was about so she walked over to the tree stump that was full of water, she knelt down where the water was trickling out the side. She cupped her hands and let the water pour into her palms, she brought the water up to her mouth and took a drink.

Steiner who was checking the area out noticed what Jen had done, "Miss Jennifer, that water could be tainted!"

Steiner's voice made Jen jump, causing the water to go down her wind pipe, she started coughing.

This scared Steiner, "The water is tainted with poison!"

Zidane turned around to see what the commotion was, he walked over to Jen and slapped her back. Jen caught her breath, "I'm fine, Steiner startled me, that's all."

Zidane looked at the water, he knelt down and tried a hand full as well, he looked to Vivi, "It's safe."

Vivi walked over and had a sip as well, he looked up to Steiner, "Are you gonna have some? It's really good!"

Steiner nodded, "Very well, if Master Vivi says it's good then I'll try some." After everyone had their share of water Zidane announced that it was time to keep moving.

Jen looked around clutching the weight of the kusarigama, "So...this is Evil Forest, I can't believe that I'm actually here."

Zidane sighed, "Yeah we wouldn't have landed here if Queen Brahne hadn't attacked us..."

Steiner raised his voice, "Don't you dare blame the Queen for this, if it's anyones fault, it's yours! If you hadn't abducted the Princess we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Jen said thoughtfully, "Wow, first a thief nabs her, then a monster, that's the way to spend your birthday. Something doesn't add up..."

Zidane asked, "What's that?"

Jen replied, "If she was acting on stage with the people who were trying to kidnap her, you would think she would've tried to get away...Even when Steiner was trying to save her...It's almost like she was trying to run away, like she wanted to be kidnapped..." Jen knew what she was doing, she knew she probably shouldn't be doing doing this.

Zidane looked at Jen, he didn't say anything, Princess Garnet did look sad, she looked desperate to get away from there_,"Can I really keep that promise...?"_

Steiner didn't say anything, _"That's nonsense, why would the Princess ever want to run away? She has no reason to. She was only going along with them so she wouldn't cause a mass panic. I must focus on rescuing the Princess and escorting her back to the castle."_

Poor Vivi who hadn't said anything was trembling with fear, _"How big is this monster? Will I even be able to do anything?...I couldn't protect her before..."_

Jen stopped walking while everyone else moved on ahead, she heard something in the bushes, she grabbed the blade in the back of her pocket, _"Okay, my first monster, I'll either live or...die. If I die then I won't be able to find Josh...Yeah, that's my motivation...Josh."_

A fang then jumped out of the bushes, Jen jumped back a little to keep a safe distance apart from it. Its fur looked tangled and disgusting, the fang was drooling so it was probably hungry. Jen watched as the fang's brown fur wiggled, it gave her the goosebumps. The fang then lunged at Jen, she quickly pulled out the ronin sword and swung it at the little beast, her aim was pretty good and the beast let out a yelp. _"Eh...beginners luck..."_ Jen noticed a trickle of blood pouring out of the fangs back, it just made this place seem more real to her. The fang came at her again, Jen tried blocking by holding her sword out, but the fang attacked lower, clawing her side. Jen held in her scream and let out a deep sigh, "Frick that hurt!" Jen gripped the sword tightly, on one end the blade was slightly tilted, while the other blade was pointed towards the ground. Jen charged at the fang swinging the upper blade into the fang, she quickly pulled it out of the fang and swung the lower blade through the fangs chin so that the blade was sticking out of its head.

Jen took a step back, the fang didn't move. It was dead. Jen started to get the shakes, the adrenaline of the fight still had her going, _"I killed it...I can't believe I killed a beast...How come it's not vanishing?"_ Something caught the corner of Jen's eye, it was shiny, she kneeled down to pick it up, _"Is this gold or...Gil? Wow, it's a lot bigger than what I imagined." _Jen held a few pieces in her hand, she was going to need a pouch to put it in. She suddenly heard footsteps, she looked up and saw Zidane.

Zidane looked at the fang, the ronin was still jammed into the skull, the sight turned his stomach, "Did you do that?"

Jen stood up quickly, "Yeah, pretty cool huh?"

Zidane nodded his head, "Yeah...Cool...I thought you didn't know how to fight."

Jen shrugged her shoulders, "Beginners luck I suppose."

Zidane looked at the fang again, there was blood on its left claw, he looked over to Jen, "Are you alright?"

Jen smiled, "Yeah I'm fine."

She walked over to the fang and tugged on the sword, Zidane observed her, _"I guess the cut isn't too bad, she's not complaining."_ Zidane continued watching, it looked like the sword was stuck in there pretty good, "Hey do you need some help?"

Jen shook her head, "I got it." Zidane walked over anyways and helped pulled it out. Jen took the sword and wiped it in the grass, "I could've gotten it out..."

Zidane laughed, "Yeah right, come on we're wasting time." Jen quickly sheathed the ronin and ran ahead. Zidane followed.

The two of the caught up with Steiner and Vivi who were standing outside of a cave. Jen stopped running and Zidane ran into her knocking Jen down. Jen tumbled over and looked up at Zidane, "Hey, watch it!" She got up and quickly dusted herself off.

Steiner looked to Zidane, "You buffoon, watch where you're going!"

Jen looked at the cave, "I imagine that's where the Princess is...Come on let's go!"

Jen ran into the cave, she heard Zidane and Steiner's seperate cries, "Hey come back!", "Miss Jennifer wait!"

_"Yeah, I dunno why I'm running in here, it's not like I can do anything. I might seem brave but I'm really just scared. I just want to get this part over with."_ Jen pulled out her sword, she used the ronin more than the kusarigama because it was easier to pull out. It also seemed like it would be more effective. Jen looked at the plant monster, it was much bigger in person than on the screen of a T.V. but that wasn't going to make her back down.

The others ran in and were right behind her, Vivi shouted and pointed at the Princess, "There she is!"

Zidane said thoughtfully, "So this is the master."

Steiner shouted out to Garnet as if she could hear him, "Princess!!" He turned to Zidane, "You stay out of this! Alexandria would be disgraced if a mere bandit should rescue the Princess."

Zidane said with a hint of sarcasim in his voice, "You think you can handle him on your own?" There was silence from Steiner and Zidane turned to Vivi, ignoring the knight, "Vivi, Jen, let's get him!"

Steiner wielded his sword and he looked to Vivi, as if to signal that he was ready to combine their attack.

Jen charged at the monster, she swung her sword at one of the tentacles, she jammed it in and pulled it out, _"That's not gonna work, the outer layer is tough like a tree..."_ The monster then retaliated by using its rear tentacle to wrap around Jens waist and it carried her into the air holding tightly. Jen looked around, she could see Zidane and the others fighting.

She saw Vivi point at her and shout to Zidane, "He's got Jen!"

Zidane looked up to where Vivi was pointing, he shouted up to Jen, "Hold on!"

The monster then began flailing Jen around like a toy, she couldn't even see the others anymore, she felt like she was on some sick carnival ride. The monster tightened its grip on Jen causing her to let out a painful scream. Zidane heard Jen's scream, he couln't see what was happening but he knew it couldn't be good if she was screaming, he held his daggers and sliced into the monster causing it to wince in pain.

Steiners stomach turned, he couldn't imagine what was happening to her, he held out his sword, "I must save the Princess..." Vivi increased his fire power which was extremely effective. The monster fought back using Pollen to blind everyone, everyone quickly pulled out small viles from their pockets, they each poured a few drops into their eyes. It must've been eye drops because the Pollen around them was disappearing. The monster then used another tentacle and struck everyone knocking them a few feet back. Jen felt like she couldn't breathe, like she wasn't getting enough oxygen to the brain, it had a death grip on her. Jen was still holding, her sword she tried jabbing the monsters tentacle a few times, it wasn't working, the only reaction she got was a good shaking.

Jen then saw Blank arrive on the scene, "Good, the fight's almost over with...Blank hurry up and attack!"

Blank ran over next to Zidane, "Where's that other chick?"

Zidane pointed up, "He's got her. If that thing squeezes any harder, it'll crush her."

Blank looked up and shook his head, "It's sucking the life out of her!"

Blank unsheathed his sword he charged at the tentacle that was clutching Jen. Jen closed her eyes, she couldn't watch. The impact from Blanks sword caused the monster to throw Jen. Jen could feel herself flying fast through mid air, the only thing that stopped her from flying was a wall, she let go of her sword which fell a few feet away from her. She opened her eyes, her butt and legs were against the wall, everything was upside down. Jen watched the battle for a moment. Zidane and Blank teamed up and took on the left side, they were hacking away with their weapons. While Vivi and Steiner took the right, they combined attacks creating the fire sword. It was pretty smart. Blank and Zidane gave on last blow to the monster and it began to sink into the ground.

Steiner rushed over to the Princess, he picked her up shouting, "Princess!! Please get a hold yourself!!" Zidane walked over and tried giving her some of the seed remover.

The Princess drank some of it, but it wasn't enough for Steiner, "Princess, please try to drink all of it."

Vivi asked in a cute worried tone, "Is she gonna be okay?"

Blank walked over to Jen, he handed her, her sword, "Hey, you alright?"

Jen slowly rolled over and pushed herself up off the ground, she rubbed her head, "Yeah, it was nothing." Her legs gave way and her knees hit the ground, she let out a small laugh, "Hahaha, I guess not."

Blank grinned, he pulled out a small vial that contained a light blue liquid, "Here drink all of it, if you don't, you won't fully heal and if you run into another battle when you're not fully healed, you could be done for."

Jen took the potion, "How many of these do we have?"

Blank shrugged, "I only have few left, and you guys are gonna need some more when we get out of here."

Jen thought, "I guess we're short...I'll drink half of it and save the rest for when I really need it."

She wasn't going to take Blanks advice, "Thanks, sorry I don't have anything to give to you in return."

Blank shook his head, "No worries."

The ground began to shake violently, Blank shouted, "Oh man! What now!?"

Green monsters began crawling out of the hole the boss fell through and through the enterance, Blank then stated, "Sheez! We're gonna be surrounded!"

Jen quickly drank some of the potion and stood up, she closed the lid and stuffed the potion into her pocket. Zidane then shouted, "Let's get out of here!"

He ran to the exit and started motioning for everyone to get out, "Come on we gotta get out of here!"

Steiner ran out carrying the Princess, Vivi ran out behind him. Blank looked at Jen, "Come on!"

Blank and Jen both ran out. Jen jumped off a bunch of ledges, she looked behind her and could see the green monsters climbing out of hiding. She jumped down two more ledges and kept running, _"Good thing I took the potion when I did."_ Jen noticed that the trees were beginning to move, they were trying to use their thorny branches to stop them. Jen started to panic, this was scaring her, she felt safer when she was controlling the main character, not being one of them. Jen wasn't much of a runner, especially under a lot of pressure, and this was A LOT of pressure. She watched as Blank and Zidane ran past her, she started to panic a little more because she didn't want to be left behind. Her pace started to pick up a little, she could see Zidane out running Blank, which was a suprise. Jen watched as vines were aiming for her, she dodged each one of them. She looked behind her and saw a green monster right on her butt, _"Wait, this thing is suppose to be on Zidane's tail, not mine!"_ A vine with thorns was sliding behind Jen, while it landed behind her, a thorn sliced her back. Jen started to trip but Blank pushed her out of the monsters path.

Jen turned back and saw the monster pick Blank up, she stood there watching, Blank then shouted, "Go!" She didn't move, Jen was in shock.

Zidane then grabbed Jen's arm and ran, leading her out. Blank threw something, Jen looked at the item he threw, _"It's the map!"_ Jen kept her eye on the map and ran for it like a reciever in a game of football. Zidane watched as she began to out run him. Jen jumped over some more vines, she jumped in the air and caught the map taking it with her to the ground, she sprang to her feet and headed for the exit. Jen wanted to see where Zidane was so she stopped and turned around, she saw Zidane and he then pushed her through the exit. Jen looked at the entire exit, as it was now petrified, everyone knew Blank wasn't with them anymore. Everyone was silent, they knew Zidane needed some time alone to let it sink in.

Jen rose to her feet, Steiner set the Princess down onto the ground, he looked to Vivi, "Master Vivi do you think you could start a fire?" Vivi nodded his head, he held out his hands, fire then emerged from his hands and onto a small pile of sticks that Steiner had laid down. Jen walked over towards the fire and sat down. She wasn't close, only close enough to feel some of the heat when the wind blew it in her direction.

Jen looked over to Vivi, who was sitting next to the fire, trying to warm his hands, "Hey Vivi, how are ya doing? Was that your first battle against something big like that?"

Vivi looked at me with his golden eyes, "I'm fine. No, I've fought bigger but none as strong as that one." He turned around to continue warming his hands.

Jen looked over to Steiner who was standing next to the Princess, he looked like he was overwhelmed and probably didn't want to talk, he had a lot on his mind at the moment. Jen then stretched out onto the grass and looked up to the stars. The stars seemed much different here, there was no 'Milky Way'. Jen's view of the stars was soon blocked by Zidane's face as he stood over her, he didn't appear to be too happy.

Jen could tell this by the tone he was using when asked, "Why did you stop?"

Jen replied slowly, "I was worried."

Zidane kicked jen softly in the side, "Well you could've gotten hurt. And you shouldn't go running into battles by yourself, that was pretty dangerous."

Jen stared at Zidane for a moment, "I guess I was overconfident."

Zidane sighed, he sat down next to Jen and asked, "Are you hurt?"

Jen replied as if it was not important, "...Yup."

Zidane looked at her, "Where?"

Jen grinned as she heard his worried tone, "My back...A vine with thorns caught me pretty good. I'm sure it's just a scrape so I should be fine."

Zidane reached into his pocket, he pulled out a potion, "Here take this."

Jen pulled out her potion that was half full, "This should be enough. I'll be fine thanks."

Zidane laughed, "You sure are stubborn, just take this, that might not be enough." Jen sighed she took the potion from him. Zidane smirked and told her in the same tone that Jen used on Josh whenever Josh was sick and she was stuck taking care of him, "Now drink it, all of it." Jen sat up and opened the lid of the potion, she drank all of it. Zidane looked where she had been laying and saw blood stains in the grass, it didn't look good, _"I thought she said it was a scrape..."_ Zidane then said, "Finish your other one."

Jen hesitated, she didn't want to waste it, she looked at Zidane and his face was kind of serious, she then finished the other potion off. Jen felt a lot better, she looked to Zidane again and he nodded his head, "I'm gonna have to keep an extra eye on you huh?"

Jen laughed, "No, I can take care of myself."

Zidane scoffed, "Yeah right. A Noble like you wouldn't last an entire day out here on your own you know that right?"

Jen leaned over close to Zidane's face, "Is that a fact?"

Zidane pushed her face away, "You're weird."

Jen laughed, "Seriously, you think I can't make it on my own out here?"

Zidane shook his head, "Nope."

Jen was disappointed, _"Geez one of my Final Fantasy heroes thinks I'm incapable of surviving on my own, probably thinks I'm a burden too."_

Zidane broke Jen from her thoughts, "So why are you going to Lindblum?"

Jen looked up into the sky, with everything going on, she still didn't forget her reason for going on. Jen didn't want to come up with excuses right now, she threw a question back at him, "Where do moogles come from?"

This threw Zidane off, _"Huh? Is she hiding something?"_ He answered truthfully, "I have no idea."

Jen then flopped her back down on the grass, stretching her arms out how many potions do we have?"

Zidane watched her, he then looked up into the sky, "Twenty eight...Why?"

Jen asked again, "Can I have 2 please?"

Zidane thought about it for a moment, he reached into his pocket and handed her two potions, "Here."

Jen took the potions, "Thanks. You're a good guy."

Zidane laughed, "You're not too bad yourself."

There was a moment of silence before Jen yawned, "Well I guess I'll get some sleep...The Princess should wake up soon, tell her I said 'Hi'."

Zidane replied, "Alright, good night."

Jen shook her head, "This night has been anything but good. Night."

She rolled over and fell asleep, she heard voices raising, it was probably Steiner fussing at Zidane, she wasn't going to wake up just to hear them rant, she knew what was going to happen. Jen woke up way earlier than the others, she sat up and found Zidane laying close to Vivi, Steiner standing in his sleep, and the Princess sleeping peacefully, Jen muttered, "That's all she's good for." She stood up and looked as the fire died down, she looked outside of camp, _"Think I can't make it out on my own, hmph, I'll go to Dali and wait for them at the Inn."_ She tiptoed over to where Zidane was laying, she spotted the map in his hands, _"He must've taken it while I was sleeping..."_ she slowly pulled it out from his grasp. She untied it and pulled it open, she looked to see how far Ice Cavern was. It had to be maybe 30 minutes away, and that it would probably take about twenty minutes or so just to get through the pass. She set the map down, leaving it open and headed out, this was probably one of the most stupidest things she had done in her life.

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**And as always, your review could save a life!**

**-Huggyssupreme**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woo! a speedy update! I'm just so awesome! Lol. I have had an awful week. My cat was hit by a car and his carcass is still out there, I would've cleaned up the mess but someone had to hit him a 2nd time and I'm just not going to deal with that. It's bad enough I have to look at it. Then my best friend, whom I haven't seen in 2 and a half years, calls up and tells me that she can't meet me in Houston for Thanksgiving. Now my car has been stalling, I had it serviced and the bill came out to 300. With the way this week has been going, I wouldn't be surprised if I got pulled over, my road test is next week and I drive alone on my permit. Lol. Enough about me, read the story already!**

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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Jen had been walking through the Mist for a while now and no monsters had appeared, Jen felt rather lucky but still uneasy. The Mist reminded her of the fog in California, it was hard to see where she was walking. The grass was damp, there was mud but it wasn't as bad as the mud in Evil Forest. Jen then felt a cool draft coming from somewhere,_ "That's gotta be the Cavern!"_ Jen ran in the direction of the cool draft and she stumbled upon the enterance of the Cavern.

Zidane opened his eyes, he sat up and stretched his arms,_ "Blank...You idiot."_ He stood up and walked to the petrified enterance of Evil Forest. He stood there for a moment_, "When I told you to take care of everyone, I meant for you to keep running. I was trying to keep everyone safe. Blank you know I'm good runner. You idiot you should've kept going."_ Zidane heard foot steps, he turned around to see the Princess, "How are you feeling?"

Garnet nodded her head, "Good...thanks to that medicine you gave me." She looked at the enterance, "Could this be...?"

Zidane turned around and faced the enterance, "Yeah I was suprised, too. After we beat that big plant-guy, the forest got completly petrified."

Though Zidane could not see it, Garnet frowned and said, "Vivi told me that because of your friend, we were able to escape."

Zidane paused, thinking what an idiot Blank was, "...His name is Blank."

Garnet replied, "We must go help him."

Zidane shook his head, "We can't do anything for him right now."

Garnet started to protest, "But...I can't-"

Zidane cut in, "We'll come back for him. I'm sure there's a way to cure him. Let's get going. According to the map Blank gave us, there's a cavern south of us. Maybe we can get above the mist through that cavern."

Garnet tilted her head down, she really wanted to help Blank, she felt like it was her fault, Zidane looked to her, "Are you alright?"

Garnet looked to him and nodded her head, Zidane smiled, "Everything's gonna be fine. Trust me."

They both headed back to camp, Vivi looked at Zidane and Garnet, "Where's Jen?"

Zidane looked around, "I dunno, I thought she was still sleeping."

Garnet walked past Vivi and picked up the map, "Look."

Zidane looked at the map in her hands, "I thought I had that in my vest...She went off on her own!"

Garnet looked at Zidane with a puzzled look, "Why would she do that?"

Zidane felt like kicking himself, "It's my fault, I told her she wouldn't last out here on her own."

Garnet was still confused, "Why would you tell her that?"

Zidane sighed, "Well she's never been in a battle before. She's trying to prove me wrong."

Garnet said thoughtfully, "So if anything happens to her, it's pretty much your fault."

Zidane nodded his head in agreement, "I guess I made her feel bad, bad enough to make her go off on her own."

Vivi looked up, he saw something coming out of the forest, "Look! There's something coming!"

It was Monty, the moogle, "Wait, kupo!" The moogle looked up to Zidane, "I'm impressed kupo, first time I've seen someone escape from Evil Forest. You all must be strong kupo. But don't get cocky, kupo. Lots of stronger monsters ahead. I have a gift for you, kupo. Take this flute." Zidane bent down to take the flute from the moogle. Monty continued, "With this flute, you can call us anywhere in the world, kupo. Happy trails!"

Garnet smiled at the moogle, it was so cute, "Thank you."

Monty was happy that a cute girl spoke to him, "Kupopo!"

Garnet turned to leave, Vivi smiled and waved to the moogle, "Bye!

" Monty responded, "Kupoo!"

Vivi and Zidane turned to leave, Zidane smacked Steiner in the back on his way out causing him to jump, and shout, "What!?...What the..." He turned to the moogle, "Who goes there!?"

The moogle replied, knowing that the knight was a total square, "Your friends already left, kupo."

Steiner quickly turned and left shouting, "Princess!!" The others weren't too far ahead, he caught up and asked, "Where's Lady Jennifer?" Zidane answered knowing he might catch hell from the knight, "She went ahead." Steiner shouted, "What!? Why would she do something like that, doesn't she know that it's dangerous out here!?" Zidane shrugged, "I dunno, she's probably way in over her head."

Jen held her sword, she was way in over her head, she was battling two Wyerds and they out numbered her in size, literally. She charged at the one to her left, she sliced the neck area, trying to hit a vital spot, she reached in its fur and pulled out a tent and a potion. The Wyerd attacked by striking Jen with its huge paw, Jen dodged the Wyerd.

The Wyerds then shouted, "Get out of our way!"

Jen who was in her fighting stance, stood up, she then ran through the snow and hid behind a rock, "Fine, just go!"

The Wyerds then left. Jen came out from behind the rock, she had fought a Flan earlier, she was able to get a few potions from that thing. She seemed to be doing fine on her own_, "Hmm, if I can't back home then maybe I'll become an adventurer, go explore the land...I wonder if Josh is even here...He has to be. Ryan got off easy, I bet he's with Melissa, he's always had his eyes on her. I'm sure he was looking for a reason to dump me, hah! I guess that's a good reason. I wonder what Zidane is doing? Too bad he likes the Princess..."_ Jen trudged through the snow, the temperature wasn't too bad, it was like walking into a freezer, it felt kind of nice to her. Jen came to a fork in the road, she looked to her left, then to her right. She went left to see the frozen moogle. She walked in and saw the moogle a frozen stone, there were beautiful frozen flowers and steps to the stone where the moogle sat.

The moogle's eyes shifted towards Jen, they pleaded for her to break him free. She walked up to it and tried pounding on it with her fists, she shrugged and then shouted, "Don't worry, I have friends that are coming this way, they can get you out! Sorry!"

She left the small den and turned onto the other path, hopefully the Black Waltz wasn't there yet. She passed the area where the others would soon fall asleep and approached a waterfall, she looked at the long winding path that led up to the top, she swallowed saliva,_ "I'm gonna have to go up there by myself? I hope I don't fall..."_ Jen headed up the path, it was starting to get colder, she rubbed her arms together. As she got higher, she noticed that she had to jump to the other ledge to continue on. She looked down and saw the lake, she was sure the lake was below freezing and if she fell into that she would be dead. She took a few steps back and jumped to the other side. She ran some more up the path until she came across another ledge, she jumped to the other side with no problems. The exit was right before her, she turned around,_ "Yeah, tell me I can't make it on my own! Hah!"_ Jen turned and walked out of the cavern, the light was blinding,_ "Wow, it feels like it's been forever since I've seen the sun."_ She looked and saw the small village of Dali,_ "I wonder how long I'll be waiting..."_

Jen ran into a few pythons, and a ragtime mouse. It asked her who wrote "I Want to be Your Canary", Jen answered Lord Avon and the friendly monster gave her 1000 gil, an ether that she would give to Vivi and took off. Other than that, she made it to Dali with no problem. She looked at the inn and decided to wait there, she turned the door knob slowly and walked in. The place seemed old and there was a musty smell to the place, she could feel the heat of the flames from the fireplace, Jen looked up and saw a calico cat with yellow eyes sitting stretched on the mantle sleeping with a moogle sitting next to him. _"That must be Gumo..."_ Jen walked up to the desk where she found a man wearing a blue hat, who must have been in his mid 20's, sleeping on the job, "Hello?" She waited for an answer...Nothing. Jen then shoved his arm, "Excuse me." She was getting a bit impatient, _"Man this guy is out..."_

She then kicked a leg of the desk causing the man to jump out of his sleep, he looked up to her, "Oh I'm sorry, what can I do for you?"

Jen smiled, "Yeah, hi, can I get a room?"

The man pointed to a door, the only other door besides the front, "We only have one room with four beds."

Jen nodded her head, "That's great I'll take it, I have friends who will be coming later, so I'll be paying for them as well."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pouch that she recieved from the ragtime mouse when it gave her the gil and pulled out 100 gil, she handed it to the man, "Here."

The man took the money, "Thanks. Sleep well." He then folded his arms on the desk and he placed his head down and went back to sleep.

Jen walked into the room, she saw the beds, she walked over to the one by the door and sat down, _"Well, it's springy."_ She took off the shoulder harness sheath and pulled the kusarigama out of her pocket, she hid them under the bed. She took off her hoody and stuck that down under the bed as well, she pulled the bed spread down. She kicked her shoes off as well as her socks, she tucked the socks into her shoes and stuck the shoes underneath the bed as well. Jen slid into bed only covering up with a sheet, her brown hair that hung past her shoulders, now hid the pillow. It wasn't long until she was in a deep sleep.

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**And as always each review could save a life!**

**-Huggyssupreme**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ifeel like this is going slow because it's in the beginning. Lol. Oh well. This one is shorterand I might make it shorter, I don't know, I'm just trying it on for size. Let me know what you think!**

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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Zidane looked at Jennifer,_ "Wow, she's pretty."_ He smirked and said, "Well seeing how there are only four beds, it looks like I'll be sleeping with either Dagger or Jen."

Steiner then shouted, "You most certainly will not!! How dare you think such lecherous ideas!! Have you no manners!?"

Jen rubbed her eyes, she looked up to see everyone in the room, "Oh, hi guys, what took you so long?"

Zidane turned and looked at Jen, "Well we got a little side tracked. Oh, by the way, this is-" Jen cut in, "Dagger, right? I'm Jennifer, but call me Jen Nice to meet you."

Zidane looked at her in bewilderment, "How did you know?"

Jen pulled the sheet down, reached under the bed for her hoody, "Lucky guess."

Zidane swallowed the remaining saliva in his mouth as he saw Jen's clevage.

Dagger who was oblivious smiled, "It is nice to meet you." She still had that royal tone.

Jen slipped on the hoody as well as her socks and shoes, "Well I'll get out of your hairs so you guys can rest up, I'm sure you had a time in that cavern."

Steiner then said, "You don't have to leave on our account."

Jen replied, "No but there are five people and only four beds, I've had my rest. I'll take a look around the village." She walked out of the room, leaving her weapons under the bed, she figured she wouldn't need them until later, that's when the real action started.

Dagger turned to Zidane, "Is she traveling with us?"

Zidane shrugged, "I don't know anymore. I think she's just trying to get to Lindblum."

Dagger nodded her head, "I see."

Zidane then said, "Tell me one thing before you go to sleep, why did you wanna to leave the castle, Dagger?"

Dagger began to explain, "If the theater ship hadn't crashed..."

Her voice trailed off and Zidane finished, "It would've arrived at the neighboring regency of Lindblum." Dagger nodded her head, Zidane then realized and said, "You were gonna leave Alexandria!?" This shocked Steiner, as he waved his arms in the air.

Zidane continued, "I see. If you hadn't been caught, you would've reached Lindblum by now. But now...We'll have to cross South Gate by foot. Border crossing, huh?"

Dagger felt like the thief didn't understand, "Zidane, please listen. There is a reason I must leave this kingdom. I cannot tell you why...But...please..."

Zidane didn't need a reason to be with a pretty girl, a pretty princess non-the-less, "I understand...I'll get you to Lindblum somehow."

Steiner who didn't like the conversation nor agreed with the thief, shouted in his usual tone, "I've heard enough! Princess, you cannot trust the words of a thief! He may even expose you to more danger like he did in Evil Forest! I beg of you, Princess. Please return with me to the castle."

Zidane then said, "I know i screwed up in Evil Forest. But there's no doubt in my mind now. I'll protect Dagger with my life!"

Steiner jumped and shouted, and began pointing his finger at Zidane, "Don't be ridiculous! It is I who protects the Princess, now and forever!"

Zidane argued, "Then tell me. How do you intend to take her back to the castle?"

Steiner wasn't sure, "I-I will think of a way..."

There was a loud snore that could be heard across the room, it stopped the bickering. They all turned to find Vivi sleeping, Steiner said ash e felt bad for raising his voice, "Master Vivi..."

Zidane then said, "He was tired. But you had to go on a tirade."

Steiner shouted as though Zidane implied that it was all his fault, "What!?"

Zidane ignored the knight and turned his attention to Dagger, "Let's go to sleep." The three travelers who were still awake were now asleep.

Jen had been walking around the village, she went into the weapon shop and bought a new leather shirt. She went into an item shop and bought a few potions, phoenix downs, antidotes, eye drops, and a tent. She chatted with Slai, she seemed like a nice person. She watched as the children ran around her gossiping about Vivi. Jen knew that she shouldn't interfere, it was a game, it's not like they really have feelings..._"Right...?"_ Jen wasn't sure, all she knew was that she didn't want to drastically mess with the story line, Vivi was going to question his existence somehow, it's not like Jen could cover up the war.

She walked to the building with the windmill, it was a funny looking windmill, but then this was a poor town. She opened the door and found no one guarding the trap door. Jen popped the lid right open, she felt a cool draft and decided to go in, _"A little exploring won't hurt...It's not like anything bad will happen."_ Jen jumped off the ladder, her shoes echoed as her feet hit the ground, she looked around, she didn't see or hear anybody, she figured it was safe to continue on. She went down the mini elevator and walked over to the treasure chest, she kicked it open and pulled out 156 gil, she followed the path that led into a dark tunnel. There were boxes everywhere, as well as cob webs, _"For a bunch of farmers, they don't clean well."_ She walked down the long tunnel, it was lit by lanterns on the wall, she then heard a 'Kweh' like noise and looked up. She saw a chocobo in a nearby pen, she knew it was used in the production of black mages,_ "I bet that thing never gets out."_

A man who was storing barrels saw Jen, he knew that she didn't belong here, _"A spy...?"_ The man grabbed a 2X4 and crept behind her, Jen sensed someone behind her, she turned around and the man swung the 2X4 shouting, "For Alexandria!" Jen fell to the floor, she saw his feet, then saw nothing. Then man looked at her, he lifted her up and took her to the stable, he tied her arms behind her around a pole and then tied her legs up using rope that was used to tie the barrels together, he made sure that he knotted it well so that Jen could not escape.

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**And as always, your review could save a life!**

**-Huggyssupreme**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for your reviews! I sometimes become frustrated when I read stories that are short, so I won't torment you. I'll do my best to keep them long! **

**Okay this chapter is a bit drama-ish, but then again, it's in the drama category, so it should be expected right? So it might get a little corny. Lol. Corny Collins! Lol. Too much Hairspray. Let me know how it was!**

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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Jen woke up, she saw the dim lights, she looked over to her left and saw the chocobo drinking water, she looked to her right and saw a small mage crying, "Vivi?"

Vivi sniffed the snot away and looked over to Jen, "Y-yeah?"

Jen could feel blood trickling down her neck, it felt weird, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Vivi nodded his head, "I'm fine. What about you?"

Jen grinned, "Never better." There was a moment of silence, Jen was lying she didn't want Vivi to worry, her head was killing her, she could use a pain pill.

Vivi continued crying and then said, "I'm scared."

Jen replied, "I'm sure everything is going to be okay. Don't worry.

" A familiar voice then startled Jen, "Vivi?

" Vivi looked up and answered with a question, "Zidane?

" Zidane then shouted, "Vivi! Where are you? Are you underground? Can you move?"

Vivi answered, "They told me to stay here.

" Zidane asked, "Are you hurt?"

Vivi replied, "No. But Jen is, she's bleeding.

" Zidane then shouted again, "What!? She's down there with you? "

Jen then answered, "Yeah I'm down here too. Hurry up and get us out."

Zidane replied, "We'll hurry, so stay where you are, okay?"

Vivi then said, "Okay."

Jen looked over to Vivi, she smiled at him, "See? I told you it was going to be okay. Vivi nodded his head.

There was another long moment of silence and Vivi then said, "I thought you were dead."

Jen looked at the ropes wrapped around her ankles, "That's a comforting thought."

Footsteps were then approaching them, Jen looked to Vivi, "Everything's going to be fine. Be brave." The men then started talking to eachother as if Jen and Vivi weren't even there.

The older man then said, "I found her, snooping around and this one was found wandering the town."

The younger man looked to Vivi and then said, "Why is it moving? Is it true the Mayor's brother found it?

" The older man responded, "Yeah I guess they reconciled now, his brother is one of us now."

The younger man asked, "Wasn't he on the old lady's side before?"

The older man replied, "Oh, about abandoning the farm? He probably only said that because he was fighting with the mayor."

The younger man then said, "Who cares? We need more workers anyway. Hey, let's put this in a box."

The older man replied, "I guess the guys at the castle will take care of it. You take it on down, I'll catch up later." The older man was now looking at Jen which freaked her out.

The younger guy smirked, "Okay, have fun." He grabbed Vivi, "Come along now."

Jen watched as the younger guy led Vivi away, she then looked up to the old man who was now standing over her. He looked at her and smiled, "Hey babe, what are you doing in a place like this?" He bent down and moved a few strands of hair out of her face, "You sure are pretty."

Jen watched as he put his hands on her waist, she tensed, he slid her up into the standing position, Jen started to squirm, "Don't touch me!"

The old man grinned, "You're a fiesty one." The man held her head still and started to kiss her cheek, he moved lower, kissing her neck. Jen shut her eyes and let out a scream. The man stopped. She opened her eyes and saw the man lying on the ground and Zidane standing in front of her

. Tears poured out of her eyes and she slid down to the ground, sobbing. Zidane pulled out one of his daggers and cut the rope, he pulled out a potion and bent down next to Jen, "Sorry I didn't get here fast enough." Jen took the potion and drank it, the cut on the back of her head stopped bleeding and soon faded, tears still rolled down her face. She then lunged at Zidane, hugging him and crying. Zidane held her,_ "That won't happen again. I promise."_ Dagger felt out of place, she then began to question Zidane's relationship with Jen.

Zidane grabbed Jen by the shoulders, he pulled her away and looked at her in the eyes, "Where is Vivi?"

Jen wiped away her tears, she pointed down the path that the young man led Vivi down, "They went down there."

Zidane then said, "Let's go save him."

Jen nodded her head, "Okay."

Dagger then handed Jen her weapons, "Here, you left these in the inn."

Jen took the weapons from Dagger, "Thanks."

She thought about that whole scene and then looked to Dagger, she knew she would have to explain her relationship with him so things didn't get confused. Jen couldn't believe what had just happened, the farmers never did that in the game, even though they weren't real people, that was real.

Right now Jen just wanted to go home, a part of her wished Ryan was with her so that she had someone to protect her. The other part was glad that he wasn't around because he would probably be hitting on Dagger. That would make her look bad. The three of them walked in silence, they passed the storage room, Zidane looked around for treasure and found a rusted wheel, he kicked it and a treasure chest fell down, he bent down and took a potion right out of it. Dagger and Jen watched as he climbed on top of a few boxes, he almost lost his balance as reached the top. In that treasure chest, there was an ether.

Jen looked over to a barrel and Dagger asked, "What is it?"

The moogle jumped out, "Kupo! I have a favor to ask! I want you to deliver a letter to Mogki!

" Jen took the letter, "Sure."

The moogle replied cheerfully, "Thanks, kupo!"

The moogle then hopped back into the barrel. As they were walking out, Jen noticed a box that looked like a coffin. The next room was much bigger, this room had even more boxes, some that were reaching the ceiling. Jen and Dagger walked to the exit and waited for Zidane as he jumped around looking for treasure.

Dagger then asked, "Does he always do this?"

Jen slowly nodded her head, "I guess so, he is a thief after all."

Dagger said in thought, "I wonder why there are barrels here with the Alexandrian sign..."

Jen replied, "I was suprised too but whatever the reason is, it can't be good."

Dagger looked at Jen, she was hurt and a bit angry by what she had just said, Jen basically was insinuating that her Mother was up to no good. Even if odd things had been happening around the castle, her Mother would never do anything bad. Jen's words also scared her, _"What if she's right?"_

Zidane then joined them, he looked to Dagger, "Is something wrong?"

Dagger shook her head, "No, let us move on."

Zidane shrugged, "Okay."

They then walked into the next room, there was a huge machine producing eggs, Zidane then shouted, "What the heck is that!?" As he started to approach it, you could hear faint sobs. It was coming from a barrel.

Dagger then called Zidane over, he came back and asked, "What is it?"

Dagger pointed over to the pile of barrels, "Someone's crying..."

Zidane listened and he heard it too. Jen knew it was Vivi but she kept quiet. Zidane jumped on top of a barrel and looked at a coffin he wasn't sure who it was, so he asked, "Vivi?"

Vivi then shouted as if he expected to remain in the coffin forever, "Zidane!?"

Zidane was startled, "It IS you!" He jumped off the barrel, "I'll get you out!" Zidane then started tearing the coffin apart, he used his daggers to cut the wood. He asked while cutting the wood, "Why would they stuff you in a box?"

Dagger then asked, "How could they?"

Vivi stuttered, "U-um..."

Zidane cut him off, "We'll talk later! Hoooold on!...It's open!" Zidane knelt beside Vivi, "What happened?"

Vivi then said in a sad tone that almost broke Jen's heart, she wanted to hug Vivi, "After you left, some men kidnapped me and brought me here. They told me to stay put. I was so scrared...I didn't know what to do. They asked me, "Why were you outside." And then they said, "The cargo ship isn't even here yet." I didn't know what they were talking about, so I didn't say anything, and they said, "Let's put him into today's shipment."

Dagger asked, "So they put you in a box?"

Vivi nodded his head, "...Yeah."

Zidane said in a relieved tone, "Well I'm glad you're safe." He stood up, "Listen, Vivi. You gotta do something next time. You should try screaming back--or whatever."

Vivi did understand, "Screaming...?"

Zidane nodded, "Yeah...Like..."Get off me you scumbag!" Zidane had rasied his voice when he shouted the 'scumbag' part.

Jen heard Dagger whisper softly as if she had just heard a new word, which she probably did, "Scumbag?"

Zidane continued, "Like that! It suprises your attacker and empowers you!"

Vivi sounded like he was starting to understand, "Huh...I see."

Zidane was glad he did, he didn't know how to make it any clearer, "I need to ask you a favor Vivi. We want to check out what's ahead. I know you might not be thrilled with the idea, but..."

Zidane trailed off trying to think of what to say, Vivi said, "Zidane, I wanna know more too. Look, what is that thing?" He pointed over to the machine producing eggs.

Zidane said heartfully, "Alright, we'll all go together!" Zidane then checked the machine out, "Is this machine making eggs? This isn't a mist engine but there's mist coming out of it."

Jen watched as the eggs went down the conveyor belt, there was another chocobo, but this one was trapped in a wheel and chasing after gysahl greens, powering the conveyor belt which allowed the eggs to travel on. It was convienant. They walked down a tunnel, cracking could be heard, it disturbed Jen, she knew it was the black mages.

As they came out of the tunnel, Vivi screamed, "Aaaah! What is this!?"

Zidane said in a shocked tone, "They're...Some part are different, but..." He then whispered, "They look like Vivi."

Vivi asked in confusion, "What is this? Are they...dolls?"

Jen turned around behind her, she turned to Zidane who looked as well, he looked at Jen and nodded his head, he turned to Vivi and Dagger and said in a low tone, "Someone's coming!" Zidane then tried snapping both of them back, "Vivi! Dagger!"

Dagger ignored Zidane, she was shocked as well, "Why?...Is my mother behind this?"

Jen ran up the stairs before Dagger finished her sentence, she knew Zidane was gonna have to carry them. Jen watched as Zidane ran inside carrying Dagger and dragging Vivi, the sight was hilarious. Jen started to laugh, but something then fell on top of her. She fell backwards and heard people nailing the box shut, she felt motion sickness as the box moved down the conveyor belt. She felt something under her, it felt squishy, and she felt a straw hat brush up against her neck. Jen got the chills and felt a doll behind her,_ "Oh my Gawd, I'm in a coffin with a mage!"_

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**And as always, your review could save a life!**

**-Huggyssupreme**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for your review(s) I'm starting to wonder if people have lost interest in FF9 section on this site. I scrolled down to the bottom and some stories were last updated in September. To me, that seems like forever ago.**

**I tweeked the summary a bit. I might keep tweeking it. Lol. **

**I haven't decided if this is going to be a ZidaneXDagger or a ZidaneXSI. It probably won't be. I think Jen thinks of Zidane as a caring friend and sometimes a sexist. I don't know, I'll have to ask her. Lol. **

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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It seemed like forever until finally Jen heard familiar voices. She started kicking the box, "Hey! Get me out of here!" Jen pulled out her Ronin, and started stabbing at the box.

She heard someone say, "Whoa!"

Jen stopped stabbing, "Zidane?" Jen waited for a reply, "Hmmm guess not." Jen then started stabbing at the box in hopes that she would free herself. She finally busted a hole and tore her way out getting a few splinters in her hand along the way. She looked over and saw the others fighting the 2nd Black Waltz,_ "Huh...he really is fast."_ Before she could get over to the others, the 2nd Black Waltz was on the ground. Jen walked over to it, it didn't disappear, it scared her, she turned to walk away and something cold grabbed her ankle. Jen screamed, "Oh my Gawd! It's still alive!" She pulled out her Ronin sword and jabbed it's arm repeatedly. The others watched her as she attempted to dismember the body part. It still clutched her ankle. Jen bent down, she had to pry its claws loose. This freaked her out, it literally had a death grip on her.

Steiner walked over, "Let me assist you Miss Jennifer." he knelt down, Jen stood up to give him some room, also she didn't want to get stabbed. The knight stood up, "There. It's gone. I've dealt with similar situations in the war." Jen looked down at the hand, "Is that the 2nd Waltz?" Steiner rubbed his chin, "How do you know about the creature?"

Jen stuttered, "Uh..."

Dagger cut in, she obviously wasn't paying attention, "Black Waltz No. 2... Did my Mother really send him to capture me?"

Steiner was then distracted with the princess and quickly forgot his question to Jen, Zidane didn't forget, he was going to ask but Steiner said, "It can't be! There is no reason to trust the words of some bandit. He was just another criminal, scheming to use the princess for some evil deed."

Dagger was begininning to think it was her fault, "Have I not been careful enough?"

Steiner gave Dagger a cheesey answer that any faithful knight would say, "Your noble upbringing cannot be disguised so easily."

Zidane was upset by his words, "That's not true at all. You haven't been watching. Dagger is trying really hard. You're the one with the problem! Walking around yelling 'Princess!' everywhere." He turned to Dagger, "About the border crossing..."

Dagger asked, "Yes?"

Zidane continued, "Why don't we hitch a ride on this airship?"

Jen looked at the airship,_ "Seriously? That thing doesn't look safe...I hate flying..."_

Jen tuned back into the conversation, Dagger replied with a hint of hope, "Sure, Lindblum should not be terribly far by airship!" Zidane raised an eyebrow at her, she quickly corrected herself, "I mean...'won't be too far'. But why don't we get some rest before we go?"

Zidane rubbed the back of his head, "I think we should board now. Wait here while I ask the people inside if we can hitch a ride."

Steiner protested, "I-I shall go ask them!"

Zidane knew the knight was up to something, "Oh really. How come?"

Steiner was saying anything that he could get away with, "I-it is not for your benefit! I am only doing this for the Princess!"

Dagger said as he boarded the airship, "Steiner...he was so adamant about going back to the castle before..." She started to put the pieces together, "An airship full of barrels like the ones I saw at the castle...Steiner was against going..." She did her little head shake, "Zidane, is this ship really headed for Lindblum?"

Zidane scoffed, "No, it'll probably take us straight to Alexandria Castle."

Dagger didn't understand Zidane's intentions, "But why? Didn't you just say that we should get on the ship?"

Zidane said cooly, "Yeah, I know. Trust me!"

Vivi then said, "Zidane..."

Zidane asked, "What is it Vivi?"

Vivi went on, "Those dolls they were making underground...Did you think they look like me?"

Zidane answered truthfully but not as truthfully as Jen would've answered if he had asked her, "Not really, they're just dolls Vivi." The propellers on the airship then started to move and the engine started up. Zidane then stated, "It's moving. What the heck is Steiner up to?"

Jen watched, she was really going to get on an airship that was being piloted by toys of war. Great.

Zidane then said, "Alright, we have to get on Dagger."

Dagger started to object, "On a ship that's not going to Lindblum!?"

Zidane tried to reassure her, "I don't have time to explain." He ran towards the ship, "This way!"

Vivi climbed up first, Zidane looked to Dagger waving his arm, "Hurry up!" Dagger shook her head and Zidane said impatiently, "You have nothing to worry about. Hurry, before she takes off!"

Dagger still had doubts, she really didn't want to go back to Alexandria, like a little kid who didn't want to go to school, "But..."

Zidane said with confidence, "I'll take you to Lindblum, I promise!"

He ran over to her and started rushing her to the ladder, Dagger, who obviously didn't liked being pushed around turned to him, "Fine, I'll get on."

Zidane warned her, "It's taking off!" Zidane got on after her and Jen stood there for a moment, she knew what was coming next, but she didn't blike flying, in fact she was scared of heights. Jen heard Dagger scream,_ "He is such a horn dog..."_ The airship started to move, Jen debated whether she should get on or not and finally jumped to the ladder. She held on tightly, closing her eyes, legs locked under the ladder and afraid to let go. The airship was no longer on the ground, Jen looked up and saw that Zidane was already up on the ship.

She heard him ask frantically, "Wait, where's Jen?"

Dagger then responded, "I don't think she got on."

Jen then shouted up to them, "I'm down here!!"

Zidane and Dagger peered over the edge of the ship and saw Jen, Zidane asked, "What are you doing? Come on up!"

Jen shouted back to him, "There's air pockets, what if the ship hits one and I fall off?"

Zidane laughed, "Then you're screwed."

Dagger looked at him, "That's not funny."

Jen then loosened her grip and unlocked each of her legs and started to climb up, she slowly made it to the top, she sat on the wood catching her breath, "I hate...flying."

She looked at the door and slowly crawled inside the cargo area, she saw Vivi attempting to talk to the black mages who were running the ship. Dagger came in and watched as well, she then went back out to get Zidane.

She came back with Zidane who was suprised, "Wow they're alive and moving around. So, the mages built in the village bring back the new ones?"

Dagger felt bad for Vivi, "Oh Vivi..."

Zidane called Vivi over. Jen was still lying on the ground, content of her position. She watched as Vivi continued his failed attempt before he soon came over to them.

Vivi hung his head low and Zidane asked, "Were you able to talk to any of them?"

Vivi said in a bummed tone, "No...it's like...they don't even...See me at all...I tried...again and again...but...they won't even turn around."

Zidane knelt down to Vivi's level, "Vivi..." He was lost at words.

He stood up and said to Dagger, "I need to go upstairs for a little bit. I gotta turn the ship around before it reaches the castle. Keep an eye on Vivi, okay?"

Dagger nodded her head, agreeing to watch the kid. Jen looked up to Zidane, "What about me?"

Zidane looked down to her, "Yeah you can come." Jen sprang to her feet and followed Zidane up the ladder.

The black mages didn't even look at them as they passed by, it was if they were programmed like robots. She still didn't understand why they weren't acknowledging Vivi, they do when the 3rd Waltz shows up. Zidane opened up the hatch and hopped off the ladder, Jen slowly got off placing each foot gently down onto the wooden deck. She closed the hatch back up and looked over to Steiner who was on his knees holding himself up with his arms.

He obviously didn't hear Zidane and Jen because he said loudly, "How could this happen? What am I to do? I never expected things to go so badly. I cannot believe the ship took off without the Princess! What will I say to Queen Brahne?"

Zidane finally asked, "What the heck were you doing? You almost took off without us!"

Steiner replied as if he didn't realize it was Zidane he was speaking to, "That is...because the ship's crew..." He paused, then sprang to his feet and started jumping, "Why you...where is the Princess!?"

Zidane replied cooly, "In the engine room."

Steiner was surprised to hear this but still shouted, "She is on the ship!?"

Zidane gave a slight nod and the knight sunk his head low with relief before jumping and saying in such a happy tone, "All is well now. This ship is returning to the castle. You will be hanged for the kidnapping of a member of the royal family! Enjoy your freedom while you can."

He shoved Zidane out of his way and into Jen causing her to fall on top of a box. Steiner ran over to the hatch and stood in front of it to guard it so Zidane wouldn't go near the Princess. Zidane shrugged and ran over to the cockpit so he could turn the ship around.

Jen sat against the box on the deck, she looked over to Steiner who then said out loud as if no one was around, "At last! Queen Brahne is sure to be pleased. However the Princess would have been left behind without the thief's aide. I shall petition for a life sentence on his behalf. Yes, that would be the honourable thing! But that was because the crew wouldn't listen! I must run a background check on them. Ah, yes. It is my duty as a knight!"

Jen started to stand up but the ship started shaking, as if someone was turning it around, "_...Zidane."_ Jen lost her balance and fell back down, "_Okay, fine, I'll stay down here..."_ Jen watched as Steiner ran towards the cockpit, just as he left, the hatch opened up. Dagger and Vivi climbed out of the engine room. Jen stood up again, she watched as Dagger went on ahead, and turned her head towards Vivi, she could see something flying towards him. She knew it was the 3rd Waltz.

Jen ran over towards Vivi and pulled out her ronin sword, "Watch out!"

She pushed him back behind her. Vivi was trembling in fear, he didn't know what was going on until he saw the 3rd Waltz, "No...!"

Vivi's cry must've gotten Dagger's attention because she ran back, "Vivi! Are you okay!?"

A ball of lightning shot out of the Waltz's hand, it was aimed for anyone in range. Jen jumped back causing Vivi to fall over, her reflexes weren't fast enough and she recieved a fair amount of electricity. She screamed in pain, but still stood her ground. After the mage stopped, she knelt down onto the ground. Her left arm was burned and she felt tingling sensations throughout her body, she was in pain for a few seconds but soon she felt nothing. Jen looked at her arm, the burn was still there, she touched it and it didn't hurt,_ "That's odd..."_

The 3rd Waltz then said, "So, No. 2 was defeated by a small child! You are no match against my power! Kwahahaha! Princess, stay there while I eliminate this child!"

Jen who was still kneeling turned around and saw the black mages who were on deck come over towards Vivi, they soon crowded around him and next to her.

The 3rd Waltz asked a challenging tone, "Are you protecting him?"

The black mages turned to Vivi, then back to the Waltz as if to imply that they were protecting him.

The Waltz then said, "Nonsense. You are no different from mindless dolls! What can you do? Get out of my way! Do you dare to fight a Black Waltz?"

Fire then emerged from the black mages hands, Jen figured now was a good time to get out of the way. She stood up and turned to run into the cockpit, the 3rd Waltz then shouted, "Out of my way!"

A mage was then knocked off its feet and rammed into Jen causing her to fly into the shabby wall of the cockpit, the last thing she heard was the blast of lightning and her last thoughts before she made impact was_, "Why...? Why do I always black out? How come I never get in on the action?...I might as well hit myself in the head with a brick whenever a battle comes along and save the bad guys the trouble of having to knock me out. I guess now I'm the weak character, not Dagger...I gotta stop this, there's no way Dagger can be better than me, I won't allow it!"_ The others watched as there was soon an explosion and the deck was lit up with lightning and debris, mages fell everywhere, glass shattered. The 3rd Waltz aimed for the barrels, getting rid of those who had stood up against him. The 3rd Black Waltz flapped his wings and was only a few feet away from Jen, but he was looking into the cockpit, his red eyes were daring Vivi and the others to fight him. Sparks of electricity zapped back and forth around him.

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Yeah I think I'm going to have her fight more. Typing the first part is always so difficult. But I always got bored reading some of the fights in others stories. Tell me what you think!

**And as always, your review could save a life!**

**-Huggyssupreme**


	6. Chapter 6

**It is cold outside!!!! I do not like winter. Well I don't like frost covering the windows on my car...It's a pain to scrape off. Well I hope you like this chapter! **

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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Jen opened her eyes, she saw Vivi standing at the side of the airship, looking at a black mages hat,_ "I missed the fight?"_ She tried pushing herself up but something was holding her down, she looked up and saw a black mage, _"Wait, I can't feel him crushing me..."_ She ran her finger across the deck with pressure, she looked at her finger and saw splinters covering her phalange,_ "I don't feel it...wait, I can't feel anything at all."_ Jen saw Zidane walk past her, "Hey!"

Zidane stopped and looked at the black mage, "Did you just talk?"

Jen blinked, "Yeah, I always talk. I'm quite good at it."

Zidane then recognized the voice, "Jen!? You were there the whole time!? I thought you were a goner! Are you alright? Can you move?"

Jen rolled her eyes, "Yes I was here the whole time, even though I don't remember it. I think I'm alright and no I can't move, this doll is crushing me."

Zidane tried lifting the mage, but it was too heavy, he looked over to Steiner, "Hey Rusty come here!"

Steiner walked over, "What do you want!?" he was obviously annoyed.

Zidane pointed down to Jen, "Can ya help move this thing?"

Steiner looked down to Jen, "Miss Jennifer! Are you injured?"

Both of them then moved the mage off of her,_ "Awww, they're working together..."_ Jen stood up as soon as the doll was off of her, she looked at her arm, it was badly burnt but she didn't feel it.

Zidane saw the burn, "That looks pretty bad." He handed Jen a potion, "Here, drink it." Jen took the potion, she drank it. Zidane asked her as soon as she finished off the vial, "How do ya feel?"

Jen shrugged, "I dunno, punch me."

Zidane was thorwn off, "What? Why?"

Jen then said again, "Just punch me."

Zidane shook his head in confusion and punched her, Jen looked at him, "The burn is gone, but I still can't feel anything."

Zidane looked at her, "What? What are you talking about?"

Jen tried her best to explain, "Well I think when the 3rd Waltz shocked me, he damaged my peripheral nerves."

Zidane didn't understand what she had said, "Huh? Your what?"

Jen sighed, "My sensory nerves. I think they're damaged. I can't feel pain."

Zidane wasn't sure how to react to this, it was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing, "Is that bad?"

Steiner then fussed at Zidane, "You fool! If she cannot feel pain how will she be able to tell if she is wounded in battle!?"

Zidane rubbed his chin, "I guess that is a problem..."

Jen watched the ship, it was getting closer to South Gate, "I wonder how Dagger is doing..." Zidane then ran into the cockpit with Steiner right behind him. Jen walked over to Vivi, she placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's going to be okay." She turned and walked towards the cockpit, she turned around and saw the Black Waltz coming back on the mini airship. Jen looked over to Steiner and pointed in the direction of the persistent Black Waltz, "It's coming back!" Steiner turned around and saw it coming at full speed, he then ran into the cockpit to warn the others. Jen looked down on the deck and saw her ronin sword and quickly picked it up. She wasn't going to lose it permanently. Jen then heard Zidane barking orders to Steiner who didn't appreciate it, and telling Dagger to stay on course. Jen looked at the mountains, they were pretty close to the ship,_ "I really hope Dagger doesn't crash..."_ Jen looked down at the ground that was moving so quickly, she couldn't keep her eyes focused on one area,_ "I really don't like flying..."_ Jen then saw the Black Waltz emerged from under the airship in his fast tiny one. Bolts of lightning came flying out of his hands, Vivi blasted it away with his fire, causing the Black Waltz's airship to fall back a bit. The ride became rough as Vivi then fell onto the deck, Jen fell back and watched as Zidane ran to go help Vivi. As Zidane dragged Vivi backwards to get him out of danger, Dagger flew into South Gate, it then started closing. Zidane was trying to get Vivi into the cockpit while Dagger was going through the gate, she started to lose control of the airship causing Vivi to go overboard, luckily Zidane held him by his coat and Dagger regained control. The Black waltz got close enough to Vivi and started to use lightning on him. The Waltz used too much power which caught his airship on fire. Dagger was able to get through South Gate but the doors closed on the Black Waltz which caused an explosion, smoke everywhere. Jen stood up and looked down, she saw nothing but mist covering the entire continent, it was a wonder no one died. She saw other passing airships, the same airships that float around aimlessly in the game. Jen looked into the busted window, "Well...that was an experience I never want to relive."

Zidane was kneeling next to the engine, "I think we pushed it a little too hard." He stood up and looked at everyone, "Why so silent people? We made it! Come on, cheer up!"

Dagger responded in a sad tone, "South Gate was badly damaged...It was my fault, wasn't it?"

Zidane replied, "Don't worry about it! They'll fix it up in no time!"

Steiner then turned and shouted at Zidane, "You idiot! The cargo ship was wrecked, we lost all the cargo, and South Gate was destroyed!" Steiner then freaked out by waving his hands in the air and shouting, "I can't believed I played a part in this debacle!"

Dagger then said in a calm tone, "Steiner."

The knight answered, "Yes, Princess."

Dagger then said, "I didn't mean to get you involved...Bust you saved us. I thank you."

Steiner kneeled down and replied, "Such kind words! I am not worthy!" He stood up and jumped shouting, "Well now I've made up my mind! I vow to protect you Princess until we return to the castle!"

Zidane was obviously upset by his words, "How do you feel about that, Dagger? He'll follow you he'll follow you to the end of the world."

Dagger still held a calm tone in her voice, "It's okay Zidane." She then said happily, "Hey, I can see the main gate of Lindblum!"

Jen turned around to see the view, she heard Steiner exclaim, "That's Lindblum Castle!? How gigantic...!"

Dagger replied, "The city of Lindblum is inside the castle."

There was a pause, everyone was staring at the Castle, Steiner then said thoughtfully, "I see..."

There was another pause until Vivi spoke up, "Zidane...Those black mages and I...Are we...The same?"

Steiner then turned to Vivi and answered for Zidane, "I don't understand Master Vivi. Just what seems to be the problem?"

Vivi then said in an unsure tone, "I don't know." Steiner then continued, "Why would those mages be the same as you? And why would it matter if they were?"

Zidane agreed with Steiner, "Rusty's right!" This threw the knight off, he was confused, Zidane had actually agreed with him. Zidane went on, "You're an individual, no matter what happens, Vivi!"

Vivi was trying to sound convinced by what he was saying, "R-right!"

Zidane was happy that his little buddy was looking at the situation in a different light, "Let's go out to the deck Vivi!"

Vivi was confused, he had just gotten into the cockpit, "Why?"

Zidane ran out shouting, "You've gotta see Lindblum from above! It's the best! Look, the Falcon's Gate is right in front of us!"

Jen walked out next to Vivi and Zidane, she looked at the city, it was pretty and airships covered the sky. She looked to her left and saw smoke coming out of some buildings,_ "That must be the Industrial District..."_ She looked to her right,_ "And that must be the Theatrical District...That must mean the Business District is behind the Castle."_ Jen looked at the castle, it didn't look that big to her. The Falcon's gate opened, Jen looked down at the many buildings below them, it was insane! It didn't look like this in the game. Dagger seemed to know where she was going, she must've remembered how to get there from when she was younger. Jen looked and saw a familiar air ship and said out loud, "Wow, it's the Hilde Garde 2..."

Zidane looked to Jen, "Is that what it's called?"

Jen turned to Zidane, "Yeah, the regent himself built it..." Jen hoped that this wouldn't bite her in the rear later.

Zidane then commented, "You sure seem to know a lot, but there are some things that even you shouldn't know about."

Jen smiled sheepishly, _"Okay, how do I get out of this one?"_ An idea popped into Jen's head, "I'm a pretty good guesser."

Zidane raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well have you ever been to Lindblum?"

Jen slowly nodded her head, "A few times."

Zidane asked, "What for?"

Jen answered carefully, "Lowell."

Zidane started to laugh, "You actually like that guy?"

Jen nodded her head, "Yes, he's an excellent actor and he's cute!"

Zidane shook his head, "Oh man, don't tell me that the real reason you only came along was to meet him and get his autograph."

Jen shook her head remembering why she was here, "I'm here to find my brother..."

Zidane sighed, "Oh yeah. Do you know where to look?"

Jen shook her head, "No, he's never been here before, I don't think he would know where to go, he could be anywhere."

Zidane rubbed the back of his head, "Well I can help you find him if you want..." He trailed off and Jen replied, "Sure."

Zidane asked, "What does he look like?" Jen thought for a moment,_ "What was he wearing when this happened?...Hmmm..."_

Jen looked over to Zidane, "He was wearing khahi pants that zip off into shorts, they're baggy with lots of pockets, black shoes, a dark blue shirt with a dragon on it, it also has foreign red letters on it. He has short dark brown hair and brown eyes, he's a bit taller than me and he's only 12 years old. I think he has his green hoody, I don't remember if he does or not. Does that help?"

Zidane nodded, "Your thorough..."

Jen smiled, "Well if you're gonna help me ya have to know every little detail."

Zidane sighed, "We just have to dock and get past security." Jen watched the ship as it was slowing downwhile pulling into the hangar, she saw where the airship would be went into the cockpit and hetold Dagger where to stop the ship. When the ship came to a full complete stop Jen climbed out of the ship and walked onto the bridge that led into the castle. She turned around and watched as Zidane opened the door for everyone,_ "There's a door!?"_ Jen felt like smacking herself. She heard Steiner say to Dagger as if she were a young child who didn't know how to take care of herself, "Please watch your step Princess."

Jen chuckled slightly,_ "Yes, we wouldn't want you disgracing Alexandria by tripping over yourself like a klutz...Yeah I wouldn't be a graceful Princess, in fact people would be embarrassed to have me as a royal figure, I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure. I wouldn't want someone constantly watching me or everyone waiting for me to screw up. I wonder if that's what it's like to be president...I don't think you get paid to be royalty...Just maybe a fat inheritance check...Well there's taxes, I wonder how much Brahne taxes her people, I'll have to make mental note and find out from Dagger some time soon."_

Jen was then interrupted by her thoughts when Steiner shouted, "What!!" This caused Jen to jump, she noticed that there was one guard, and another guard with a bearded old man were heading towards them.

The old man questioned in a stern voice, "What is going on?"

The guard that was waiting replied, "Sir we have unknown visitors who wish to see the Regent."

The other guard then said, "And we have one who is carrying a pendant that looks like the Falcon's Claw."

The old man looked at the pendant, he seemed to have recognized it, he then dismissed the guards, "You are dismissed, I'll take care of this."

The guards saluted, "Yes sir!" And they ran off back to their duties.

Dagger then said happily, "Uncle Artania!"

Minister Artania smiled warmly, "It is good to see you, Princess. Please follow me, the Regent is waiting."

Dagger was obviously confused. Everyone followed Minister Artanis to the lift. Jen looked at the wheels turning, the saw the fountain next to the lift, it was a drastic change. Jen looked down to the red carpet, she felt a little glamorous, like she was going to The Oscars. She imagined stepping out of a limo, wearing a dazzling red dress, her hair done up, Orlando Bloom takes her hand and Jen wraps her arm around him as he leads her down. The paparazzi is everywhere, cameras blind her, she smiles and waves.

"Jen."

Jen looks up and sees everyone standing in the lift, staring at her. She then realizes that she is still waving, she immediately dropped her hand and runs to the lift, "Sorry."

Zidane laughed, "What were you doing?"

Jen sighed as she remembered Orlando, "I was having the time of my life..."

Minister Artania then spoke to everyone,"Lindblum Castle has three levels, all connected by this lift. From the Base Level, which lies below the Mist, you can take a trolley to the harbor and the back gate. Ships hardly arrive at the harbor anymore since travel by air has become so popular. The Mist poses great danger, so we've sealed off everything. Just above the Base Level is the Mid Level. You can ride the air cab from the Mid Level to go to town. The Upper Level contains the royal chamber and conference room. Access to that level is restricted, because the regent himself resides there."

Jen thought to herself,_ "Wow, that guy can talk. I always knew there was something wrong with that mist, it just isn't healthy. I'll be glad when we get to the Lifa tree and defeat that thing...Wait, I said 'we', I don't even know if I'll be here that long..." _Jen saw Zidane waving his hands in front of her, she looked to him, "Can I help you?"

Zidane then asked, "What about you, what do you know about the Regent?"

Jen then said without thinking, "Well I know he's a bug."

Minister Artania's jaw practically came unhinged, he then asked himself, _"How does she know about the Regent's condition? We've kept that safely hidden from the punlic."_ Jen felt like jumping off the lift, she was in a tight spot, literally. Jen felt relief, but the Zidane laughed, "He's not a bad ruler, I've heard that he's strange but that doesn't make him a bug."

Jen responded with a nervous laugh. The Minister looked at Jen, he wondered what else she knew. The lift then stopped and Minister Artania announced, "We've arrived at the upper level." He led everyone down a hall where two guards stood apart, keeping watch of who got off the lift. There were two flights of stairs on the left and right side of the room. Both took you to the Regent's chamber. Minister Artania led the up the left side as it was closer to them. They reached the chamber door where two elite guards stood and saluted the Minister. They stepped aside allowing them access.

Minister Artania then said, "Wait here while I announce you."

Dagger nodded her head, as she was used to the formalities. Minister Artania closed the door, Dagger put her ear against it, waiting for her cue to go in. She opened the door and she entered with Steiner, who closed the door. Zidane looked to Jen and said as if he was reprimanding her, "Look, you can stay out here if you don't like the Regent. I don't want you ruining ties with Alexandria, you shouldn't have said that about Dagger's uncle."

Jen did not like the way Zidane had just spoken to her, she was about to give him a piece of his mind when they both heard a commotion going on inside the Regent's chamber. Zidane turned to the door, "What the heck...?" He burst into the room,"Dagger, what's wrong? Why aren't you talking to--GEEZ! That's an oglop!"

Vivi walked in after Zidane and looked at the oglop before saying, "Wow...Even the oglops are big in Lindblum." He was impressed.

Steiner then shouted, "What is the meaning of this!? How dare you greet the princess like this!? Get that repulsive bug off the throne immediately, and call the Regent!" Jen was trying to decide if Steiner was upset by the rudness or if he was just scared of the bug.

Minister Artania was appalled, never in his life has he seen the Regent punched like that, "Please, settle down! You ARE before the Regent!"

Steiner shouted as if the man was crazy, "What!? Enough of your nonsense!"

Dagger then said as if she was telling a dog to stop its barking,"Steiner, stand down. I remember that moustache. Is that really you, Uncle Cid?"

After much abuse, the Regent finally spoke, he seemed a little timid but his confidence soon showed, "Yes. Greetings, all gwok. I am Cid Fabool, Regent of Lindblum. I knew it was you--I recognized your pendant's description; it's so much like my Falcon Claw. I'm delighted to see you again, Garnet. You have truly gwok become a fine lady. I, on the other hand..."

Jen shook her head, when she heard the Regent comment on Dagger becoming a fine lady, she couldn't help but think that the Regent was imagining lecherous ideas._ "He did cheat on his wife and he isn't really Dagger's uncle. Her father was just good friends with him. I wonder where Queen Brahne is from and how is it she became Queen...I wonder if he was Daggers father's distant family member. Now that's pretty gross. Maybe that's why the original princess got sick and died. Regent Cid is such a perv..."_ Jen blinked and went back into the conversation.

She tuned in long enough to hear Regent Cid say, "But I'm sure it can wait 'til tomorrow. Why don't you all get some rest for today?"

Dagger was pleased with his answer, at least someone with power could help stop her mother, "Thank you."

Minister Artania decided to wrap things up and announced to the guests, "It is time for lunch. Please follow me."

As Minister Artania led them downstairs, tiny chefs walked out of the room, carrying empy plates and other dishes. They walked into the conference room, the cooks had already set the room up for lunch, Jen couldn't figure out how they knew that there was going to be a total of seven people eating. As they were seated Jen looked at the food. She didn't recognize any of the dishes, in fact it scared her. For all she knew, she could be eating a goblin. Jen shuddered at the thought. She waited for the others to dig in, to see what they ate, how they held their forks and for other little table manners that she should follow. She was a Noble after all. Jen used her fork and twirled what looked to be spaghetti onto her fork, she took a bite of it,_ "Hmm...Not bad."_ She finished off the spaghetti and then looked at what appeared to be a tongue, she used her fork to slice a piece off, she tried it. It didn't taste bad, it was okay. She stared at it, she was curious about what she had just eaten and slowly asked out loud, not caring who answered the question, "What is this?"

Steiner looked over to her plate and answered, "Mu meat mixed in with Serpion tail, and a firm Fang tongue."

Jen felt nauseous, she set her napkin on the table, "Oh, well, lunch was good, thank you. Excuse me." She stood up and walked out of the conference room, her pace quickened when she saw the lift. She entered the lift and turned around, she saw Zidane walking out of the conference room. Jen quickly pulled the lever all the way down so that she would be going to the lower level,_ "I'll wait until I know he's gone, then go back up to the mid. level."_ Jen looked at the car to her right as she stepped off the lift, she walked over to it and looked at the seats, it looked nice, as if it were an old 1950's sportster. Jen couldn't help herself. She sat in the car and pulled the lever. The car then zipped on down to the Dragon's Gate, the car moved very fast messing Jen's hair up. The car stopped suddenly causing Jen to crash into the dashboard. Jen laughed, that was too much fun. She got out of the car and it quickly went back to the lift. Jen walked over to the gate which was opened, she saw a moogle standing by the exit and a man who was selling potions and weapons. She decided to ask them, "Hey, have you seen a boy about 12 years old come through here?"

The man looked to her, "Nope, not today."

Jen then asked, "What about yesterday?"

The man scratched his head then answered, "No, but I did see a young man pass through here, I sold him a crossbow, seemed to love those."

Jen shook her head she felt like this was going to be harder than she thought,_ "It's not Josh...But..."_ She then asked, "The young man, did he have dark skin, and dark hair?"

The man looked like he had to think about it before answering, "I believe so...If I remember right, he said he was looking for a girl about your height."

Jen's heart almost dropped, "What?"

The man continued, "When I told him no'', he figured that she must be in Burmecia, well he said he wanted to try to stop something bad from happening, I don't know what he was rambling about, but he asked for a crossbow and 50 arrows and he left. Brave man."

Jen looked to the exit and then back to the man, "Can I have 45 potions?"

The man asked, "What? Don't tell me you're going after him, I'm sure he'll come back, you should wait for him."

Jen shook her head, "Are you going to give me the potions or what?"

The man sighed, "It's against my policy to turn down a costumer. That will be 2250 gil. Jen reached into her pocket, she had change from Dali, and she handed the man the gil. He took it and handed her a pouch full of potions, Jen took the pouch and tied it to a pant loop on her pants, she smiled, "Thanks." Jen ran towards the exit, as she walked out she heard a familiar voice cry, "Wait!"

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Election Day is drawing near, if you are 18 and older, please vote. If you're not old enough to vote...Hah!...Just kidding, tell your parents who you think should be president, and why you think that. Ask them who they're going to vote for. Show some interest!

Tell me what you think!

**And as always, your review could save a life!**

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	7. Chapter 7

**This is one of those fillers, also I'm debating on where she'll end up. In Burmecia or Alexandria. **

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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Jen recognized that voice, it was Zidane,_ "How did he know...?"_ Jen turned around, the mist clouded her vision, she could barely see him, she asked, "What?"

Zidane then asked, "What about your brother? Is he here?"

Jen replied, "No, he's not, I'm going to go look for him in Burmecia."

Zidane then said, "But you just got here, you should get some rest, besides that, it's dangerous out there, you shouldn't go alone, Why do you have to leave now? Do you even know how to get to Burmecia?"

Jen shrugged, that was a lot of questions, "Well, I'm not tired, I think I can manage. I mean I did make it to Dali without you guys, granted I did look at the map. And no, no I do not know how to get to Burmecia, but I heard there's a marsh not too far from here, I'm sure if I stop through there I might find out how to get there."

Zidane asked, "But why do you have to leave now?"

Jen felt like kneeing herself, she couldn't very well just tell him that Brahne was going to attack Burmecia, or could she? She then said slowly, thinking before she said, "If Queen Brahne is making a bunch of black mages, I don't think it's a present for Dagger, or Steiner's replacement. My brother isn't here and I have a very bad feeling about those dolls. They were able to attack a Waltz, they might not have won that fight, but what if they're strong enough to hurt people? What if Queen Brahne starts a war? What if she attacks Burmecia?"

Zidane then thought about and said, "That's probably why the Regent ordered us to kidnap Dagger. But why would Brahne attack Burmecia?"

Jen then said, "Well Lindblum has good relations with Alexandria, I don't think Queen Brahne would jepordize that. Cleyra is surrounded by a huge dust storm which leaves Burmecia, it's the perfect target. If she wants dolls with magic powers, don't you think she's gonna want to test them out? And who do you think this is going to affect? Do you think Vivi is going to be okay and what about Dagger? Do you think she's going to be fine with her mom killing people? I have to get there and find Josh, then maybe find a way try to stop Queen Brahne." Jen felt like she could stop the destruction of Burmecia, and maybe stop Queen Brahne from dying.

Zidane shook his head in disbelief, he hadn't even imagined that, "Listen, Jen, I know how you feel--"

Jen cut him off, she hated it when people said that, "No, you don't. Josh is the only family I have left and I'm not going to let him die."

Zidane hesitated, he knew he didn't know what Jen felt because he didn't know his family, but he knew the feeling of wanting to protect someone, he's felt it before and he was feeling it now, "I've tried reasoning with you but you're not listening. I think you're just running into things without really thinking through, you're letting your emotions take hold of your judgement. I'm sorry Jen but I'm not gonna let you go."

Jen heard Zidane unsheath his daggers, Jen quickly pulled out her Ronin sword, of all the people in Final fantasy 9, she never imagined going up against Zidane,_ "Do I even stand a chance?"_ Zidane ran at Jen, Jen wasn't sure what to expect, he was coming at her the same way he did with enemies,_ "If I treat him like he's a monster, I think I can win this...He's not Zidane, he's not Zidane, Kuja, he's Kuja..."_ Jen clashed with Zidane, he was trying to find a spot to hit her, but every move he made Jen was able to block him. Jen then swung at Zidane nearly hitting him, Zidane was surprised, he thought this was going to be easy.

The man and the moogle both watched, the man looked down to the moogle, "I bet ya 100 gil that the girl is going to win." The moogle looked up to the man, "Deal."

Jen then swung the Ronin sword at Zidane, Zidane moved to block it, he moved in close towards Jen thinking he had won the fight, Jen spun around slicing his arm with the blade of the kusarigama, she had pulled out of her back pocket when she twirled. Zidane then jumped back, he hadn't expected her to do that. Jen was just as shocked as Zidane, it was amazing. Not as amazing as when that woman moved a car to rescue her kid, but it was close enough, she was sure the feeling was the same. Jen figured if she stayed focused, she would get what she wanted, she ran at Zidane, they clashed again jumping back. Zidane then ran at Jen, he got closer to her but stopped and kicked dirt at her. It was a cheap trick, but it worked. Dirt got into Jen's eyes, blinding her. She closed her eyes and started wiping them with her arm, "That was dirty!"

Zidane walked up to Jen, she threw her ronin onto the ground and lunged at him causing him to drop his daggers, she was going to kick his butt old school style. Jen then threw some punches at Zidane, Zidane covered his face as Jen hit his gloves. Zidane was not expecting this at all, he turned his face to the side to see Jen. As he did this Jen popped him in the face which stunned him, which again allowed her to pop him in the eye. He quickly hid his face behind his gloves thinking, _"What am I suppose to do_?" Zidane then did the only sensible thing that any other guy would've done, right? He quickly swung his arm back and punched Jen in the gut. His blow sent her flying off of him, she landed a few feet away and did not move. Zidane sprang to his feet and ran over to Jen. He had knocked the air out of her. He hesitated before scooping her up into her arms, he then carried her back inside. As Zidane rode the lift, he debated on whether or not he should take her into the city or ask the Regent for a favor. If he took her into town she could always try to leave but if Zidane somehow managed to convince the Regent that she was crazy, then maybe he could have some guards watch her. The only problem with that was the Festival of Hunt. The Regent was going to need his men out on the streets to protect citizens who aren't participating. It was a tough call, Zidane was going to have to really babysit her. Zidane didn't like the babysitting idea, he figured he would tell the Regent the truth. As the lift stopped on the top level Zidane carried her to the conference room where everyone was finishing eating their meals, Steiner was the first to speak, "What did you do to Miss Jennifer!?"

Dagger looked up to Zidane, she noticed that his left eye was swollen, "What happened?"

Zidane shook his head, "It's a long story, hey Regent, can I borrow a bed?"

Regent Cid wasn't sure if he should allow such a thing, he looked over to Dagger who nodded her head, leting him know it was okay, he then said, "Bring her to the Guest bedroom on the Mid level, she can share the room with Princess Garnet."

Zidane was glad to hear that, he knew that if Jen was going to bunk with the Princess, then the area would be highly guarded, he said before turning to leave, "Thanks." He headed back for the lift. While riding down to the Mid level he looked at Jen, she sure was light, and her arms and hands were small. Smaller than Dagger's, about the size of a little kid._ "Maybe that's why she's not great in battle..."_ Zidane stepped out of the lift and made his way to the Guest bedroom. He walked up some winding stairs and laid Jen on the bed. He turned to leave, he saw a guard and said to him as if he had authority over him, "She is not allowed to leave until the Regent gives her further instruction." The guard saluted, thinking he was someone important, "Yes sir!" Zidane chuckled to himself after he left,_ "He bought it..."_ Knowing that Jen was safe, he then left for the city to get some real grub.

Jen opened her eyes, she heard someone asking to leave and a guard denying them their request. She sat up and looked over to Dagger who walked back up the stairs. Dagger blinked unsure of what to say. It's not that she didn't like her, it's just that Dagger doesn't know her too well and she never shared a room with a female before, it wasn't as bad as sharing a room with 3 guys. Jen was the first to speak, "Being overprotected sucks huh?"

Dagger nodded her head, "Yes, I came here to find a way to help my mother and I feel like I'm not being taken seriously."

Jen sighed, "I know what you mean."

There was a moment of silence, each thinking of their own dilemma, Dagger then became curious, she asked, "If you don't mind me asking...What were you and Zidane fighting about?"

Jen stood up off from the bed, she walked over to the rails and leaned up against them, "I was trying to go to Burmecia. I have a feeling that my friend is looking for my brother there. I heard from a merchant that a man with dark skin was looking for me, he bought a crossbow and my friend he knows how to use one. Maybe he thought I was in Burmecia. I dunno, but Zidane he stopped me as I was leaving...I guess I was just running into things without thinking...Maybe that wasn't him but the merchant said the guy was looking for a girl about my height. I still want to go to Burmecia."

At that moment, Dagger felt closer to Jen, she thought to herself,_ "She's like me, being treated like a child, no one listening to what you have to say, everyone assuming you're just distraught."_ Dagger replied, "You might not be able to go today, the Festival of Hunt is this afternoon. That's part of why I cannot leave this room."

Jen nodded her head, "Maybe we can distract the guard though. Get him away from the room somehow. Do you know how to cast sleep?"

Dagger shook her head, "No, not yet."

Jen pushed herself off the rails and headed downstairs, "I guess we'll just have to wait for him to take a nap." Dagger watched as Jen tiptoed over towards the door. Jen saw the guard nodding out over by some chairs, she turned over towards Dagger and motioned for her to come over, she whispered, "Hey, he's out, let's go." Dagger nodded her head, she smiled, it was fun sneaking around a castle. They quietly made their way to another set of stairs, for some odd reason the guards were gone, Jen looked to Dagger, "Where do you want to go?"

Dagger then said, "Well I cannot go further without someone recognizing me, I'm going to go upstairs to my favorite spot. I used to always go there when I was little. What about you? Are you going to Burmecia?"

Jen shrugged, "I think I'll go buy some new armor before I leave."

Dagger smiled, "Well good luck, maybe we'll run into eachother soon!"

Jen returned the smile, "I know this isn't the last time we'll run into eachother! I'll talk to ya later!" Jen waved and turned to leave. Dagger wondered what made Jen so sure that they would meet again, she shrugged it off and went into the lift going to the top level. Jen walked down the hall until she came to the hangar area, she saw a statue, it was carved very well, it must have been old, she walked past it and down some more stairs, passing by two guards who looked at her, Jen waved to each smiling. She walked over to the air cabs an attendant then asked her, "Where would you like to go today?"

Jen replied, "I need to get some armor."

The attendant responded cheerfully, "Well in that case, you want to go to the Business District!"

The door to the air cab slid open, the same way the automatic doors open at Target, Jen climbed in and sat down. The doors closed and Jen watched as the attendant signaled the driver/pilot to go. The air cab then took off, it had some power to it, Jen was pulled back by the force of the air cab, she looked around for a seat belt, sadly there were none,_ "Great..no one has invented that here...I'm going to go flying through the front window and then get hit by another air cab..."_ Jen swallowed the saliva in her mouth as she thought of her possible gruesome death and the air cab came to a screeching halt. The door opened and the pilot announced that they were now at the Business District. Jen then hopped out of the air cab and onto the platform, she looked around for the exit, it was to her left, she walked out and down some more stairs into the blinding sun, she squinted her eyes and took in her suuroundings, the buildings here were sooo tall, she could get lost in a place like this. She made her way through the street until she came to a stand, where an old lady was selling ghysal pickles. The lady offered her to try one, Jen politely declined and continued on. She didn't stop walking until she came to a water fountain, she looked around and saw Dragoo's weapon shop, she walked inside and looked at the man, his appearence sent chills down her spine, he looked much worse than Cinna.

Dragoo bellowed, "How can I help you?"

Jen then asked, "Uh, I would like some armor."

Dragoo continued speaking loudly, "You've come to the right store, what kind of armor are you looking for?"

Jen replied, "I'm looking for a Silk Shirt and a Leather Plate to go over it." Jen figured she could up her defense by wearing both, the silk shirt should be light enough for her to slip the leather plate over.

Dragoo handed her the armor, "That's 730 Gil."

Jen reached out into her pouch and pulled out the exact amount. Dragoo handed her the armor and Jen took it from him she again slipped off her hoody and took of her black leather shirt. She slipped on her new armor and turned to Dragoo, "Can I sell ya this leather shirt?"

Dragoo nodded his head, "Sure. I'll take it for 135 Gil."

Jen handed him the leather shirt, "Fair deal." She took the gil from Dragoo and put it in her pouch, "Thanks." She turned and left the shop. Jen walked back towards the air cab, the armor she bought was light and comfortable, she couldn't tell she was wearing it. She walked past the gysahl pickle lady who tried peddling some pickles, Jen ignored her, she wanted to hurry up and leave. She finally made it back to the air cab station, she looked to the attendant and asked to go to the Castle. The doors to the air cab opened and she got in. She sat down and the doors closed again. The air cab took off, Jen looked outside the window, everything was moving fast, she could get used to this free transportation. The air cab came to another screeching halt, Jen held on tightly to her seat, and the doors swung open, Jen stepped out of the air cab and made her way back to the winding hall, she passed the guards and walked up the stairs passing the statue. She made her way down the hall passing other guards, she smiled waving, saying, "Good day." Some guards looked nervous, they must've been going into the city for the Festival of Hunt. Jen was now standing near the fountain, she heard somesone singing a song without lyrics,_ "It's Dagger. Should I go up?...Probably not, Zidane might be there, this is a crucial moment for them. I think this is when Zidane actually falls for her."_

Jen walked over to the lift, there was a guard standing in front of it, she asked, "I need to go down...please?"

The guard looked as if he was about to deny her request, he hesitated before replying, "Alright, just hurry up and go."

Jen smiled and acted quite immature by hugging the guard, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She let go and ran into the lift, she pulled the lever down and down the lift went. As the lift stopped she walked over to the car and sat in it, she again pulled the lever and the car sped down towards Dragon's Gate. Jen's hair was going through a lot by just riding these spiffy inventions, they reminded her of the rides at the county fair. The car stopped and Jen climbed out, she made her way over towards the gate, she watched as it started to slowly close. If she didn't get out in time, she wouldn't be able to go to Burmecia, if she walked through she wouldn't be able to go back in. Jen ran under the gate and turned around and watched as the gate closed. She knew she made an important decision.

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Obama is our President. History is made!

Tell me what you think!

**And as always, your review could save a life!**

**-Huggyssupreme**


	8. Chapter 8

**Another filler. A good filler though! **

**Thanks to those who took time to review!**

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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Zidane walked into the guest bedroom hoping to see Dagger, instead he saw Steiner, he appeared to be thinking and moping at the same time, "What are you doing here?"

Steiner turned around thinking he had something to do with his dilemma, "You! What have you done with the Princess!? Where is she!?"

Zidane quickly defended himself, "Whoa, take it easy. I just got here."

Steiner then informed the thief, "The Princess is gone! She was suppose to stay in this room!"

Zidane replied calmly, "Maybe she went out for a little walk."

Steiner went into panic mode, "How can you be so calm!? This is a very serious matter! Have you forgotten all the danger she faced just to get here!? What if something terrible happens to her!? What am I doing here!? I must go find her! Out of my way!"

Steiner ran past Zidane nearly knocking him off his feet, he thought to himself,_ "I wonder where she went..."_ He walked out of the room and down a set of stairs as he reached the water fountain he heard someone sing, "That song... I've heard it somewhere before. That sweet voice... It's Dagger. She's upstairs."

Zidane walks over to the lift, a guard looks to him, "Sorry, only authorized personnel may use the lift." Zidane had to get past that guard somehow. He remembers that there was suppose to be a guard in front of the guest room, so he went back to the area and found a sleeping guard. He decides to wake him up, "Hey, wake up!"

The soldier opened his eyes, he had a scared guilty look upon his face, thinking it was his superior, he turned to face Zidane and realized he was safe, "...Huh?"

Zidane said frantically, "I just saw a suspicious character wandering around!"

The soldier was now frantic, "WHAT!? Wh-Where!?"

Zidane had the man in the palms of his hands, "Upstairs. Follow me." The soldier started to run towards the other set of stairs leading to the water fountain and lift, Zidane knew that if he went that way his cover would be blown by attracting more attention, "No! In here!"

The soldier stopped and turned around, that's the room the Princess was in, "Huh!?" He ran in expecting to see some lecherous creep, instead he saw no one, "Alright you bastard! Show yourself!" He ran towards the stairs that led to the beds, Zidane then tackled the guy, swinging some punches, the guard shouted, "Hey, what are you doing!?" Zidane quickly stripped of his clothes and stuffed him into the closet, locking it with an antique lamp.

Zidane slipped into the guards outfit and walked out, "That was easy." He returns to the other room and walks down the stairs,_ "I should be able to get on the lift now."_ He waks up to the guard who is standing in front of the lift, he salutes Zidane, "Good day sir! The lift is in working order!" Zidane salutes back and gets on the lift. He changes out of the guards uniform, it just didn't suit his style. Zidane followed the sound of Daggers voice, it led him to the top of the castle where he found her singing to a bunch of birds.

Dagger sensed someone near, she stopped and turned to face Zidane, she turned back to the birds who then flew away. There was a moment of silence before Zidane commented, "Nice song."

Dagger then asked, "How did you get up here? This is a restricted area."

Zidane replied with a tint of arrogance, "Come on, I do this for a living."

Dagger responded, "Oh yeah. You're a member of Tantalus, it must have been easy for you."

Zidane was confused, Dagger didn't know that he quit to save her, "Whew, what a view. Hey, look! There's a telescope! Let's go check it out!" Zidane walked over towards the telescope and Dagger followed. They both took their time looking through it. After Zidane handed it over to Dagger, he knew that something was wrong, Dagger didn't answer his question, she was mumbling to herself, and she had a sad look on her face, "What's wrong?"

Dagger hesitated before asking, "Zidane...Why did you help me come here, to Lindblum? Is it because your boss ordered you to?"

Zidane knew he had to answer honestly, he left because he cared and made a promise to do his best to kidnap her, "I just wanted to help you. That's all. The boss didn't agree with me, so I ended up leaving the band."

Dagger felt guilty, responsible for making him lose his way of getting by in life, "Really!? I'm sorry."

Zidane shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It isn't the first time I've left."

Dagger thought how nice Zidane really was, he gave up his job, his friends to rescue her, she knew that he would probably protect her, maybe over protect her, which is something she didn't want, "Zidane..."

Zidane responded, "Yeah?"

Dagger then asked, "Oh...um... How were you planning to abduct me?"

Zidane answered, "We were gonna put you to sleep with sleeping weed, then kidnap you. It's mostly used for kids, but a big dose can knock out an adult just as easily."

Dagger chuckled, "I guess you didn't need it, since I came along on my own. Hey, would you mind giving me some? I've had a hard time sleeping lately."

Zidane hesitated before answering,"Um, I don't think that's a good idea, you might get addicted. Maybe all you need is some company, eh?"

Dagger started up with that royal tone, "Oh, please. Do you think I'm that naive?"

Zidane laughed, "You can't blame me for trying." There was another moment of silence, Zidane the stuttered as he asked, "U-Um..Th-That song...Were you singing it in the Village of Dali?"

Dagger answered, "Yes...So, you were up that night..."

Zidane was curious, "What is that song, anyway?"

Dagger replied, "I don't know. I can't even remember where I learned it, I sing it whenever I feel sad or lonely...For some reason, it comforts me and reminds me that I'm not alone."

Zidane said thoughtfully, "I guess it's a mystical song..Let me hear it again."

Dagger nodded her head and started singing it again. Zidane watched her, she was so beautiful and so was the song. Zidane looked down the balcony, this whole area was great to keep a look out for enemies by air, he listened to the song. After Dagger finished he asked, "So when do you wanna go on that airship cruise?"

Dagger was confused, "What are you talking about?"

Zidane felt like kicking himself, he had asked the wrong girl, "Nevermind."

Dagger replied, "Well, it sounds like you've asked the wrong girl."

Zidane pleaded, "Wait, I-I can explain."

Dagger turned away from him and flipped her hair, "Why bother? Go have a wonderful time."

Zidane sunk his head low, he knew he messed up, "Oh man..." An idea then popped into his head and he jumped onto the ledge to get her attention, "Okay, how about this? If I get first place in the hunting festival, you and me'll go out on a date!"

Dagger shook her head in confusion, "How does that have to do anything with me?"

Zidane started to lose his balance as he pleaded, "Pleeeeaaaase!!!!!"

Dagger was scared he would fall off, "Alright, fine."

Zidane jumped off pleased with her answer, he then started to run off scene, "Consider it a date!" He ran off to go register and to go buy items.

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Jen managed to fight off a few monsters on her own. At first it was luck but luck turned into skill, Jen was actually learning how to fend for herself, she even paid a visit to the chocobo forest and she was able to borrow Choco after asking Mene where Burmecia was. Mene had a map that he gave to Jen, which she was able to follow. It wasn't long until she arrived to Gizamaluke's Grotto, two Burmecian guards were standing in front of her, they seemed alive and well. Jen was happy to this, she hopped off Choco and asked eagerly, "How fairs Burmecia." She always wanted to ask that.

The guards looked at her, the guard standing to her left said proudly, "Burmecia is well."

Jen contained her grin as she asked, "How fairs the King of Burmecia?" She was getting her kicks out of this.

The guard to her right then said proudly, "His Majesty is well."

Jen then asked, "Might I be able to pass through?"

There was silence before the guard to her left replied sternly, "No you may not."

Jen was shocked, she didn't think they would say 'no' to her, "Might I ask why?"

The guard to her right then stated, "We are on high security alert and we are only allow to let people through who are citizens of Burmecia or have business with the King, we were not informed of your arrival, therefore we cannot let you pass."

Jen then asked, "When did you heightened security?"

The guard to her left said, "This morning."

Jen was bummed. There was no way she was going to be able to get through, not unless she busted her way in, which wouldn't do any good, they might kill her. There was no way she could beat these guys, they had spears. Jen then thought of something she could use, "Well, it's a shame you can't let me through, I have some information for the King."

The guard to her right asked, "Regarding?"

Jen answered calmly and cooly, "Queen Brahne."

Both guards stiffened, that was the reason why they heightened security, they couldn't figure out how she would know anything, Lindblum was also on high security and had informed the King that they would not send any messengers until after the Festival of Hunt. Which now led them to believe that Jen was a spy for Alexandria. Both guards quickly unsheathed their spears and asked, "Who are?"

Jen jumped back alarmed that they were so quick to turn on her, "Ah! Uh, I'm a traveler!"

The guards stood ready to attack her, "That's what any spy for Alexandria would say!" The guard to her right was about to lunge at her, but a sudden outburst soon turned everyones attention towards the Grotto. The ground shook and the sounds of explosions filled the air, the noise was deafening.

Jen then asked, "What's going on!?"

One of the guards said quietly, but loud enough for Jen to hear, by the sound of his voice you could tell that he was in disbelief, "We're under attack."

Voices soon filled the air, they each chanted in an expressionless tone, "KILL!" This gave Jen the chills. The Burmecian soldiers had forgotten about Jen and ran inside. Jen stood where she wasn't sure of what to do, she then decided to chase in after them, shouting, "Wait! Wait!"

There were now five guards, one of the guards who were outside asked, "What do you want!? Can't you see we're under attack!?"

Jen was taken back by this, she then asked, "What can I do to help?"

A Burmecian soldier replied, "Get out while you can!"

Jen shook her head, "No way! I'm staying!"

With that two black mages then entered through the same enterance Jen had came in through, they held out their hands allowing fire to come out of their hands like fireworks, shouting, "KILL!" They had the straw pointy hats, purple coats and white pants and they could really move, their eyes were very scaring, they could haunt someone for years. A Burmecian soldier ran towards the mage shouting, "For Burmecia!" The mage then cast fire burning the soldier as if he were a piece of meat. Jen flinched but pulled out her ronin sword, she somehow mustered up the courage to charge after the mage in hopes of preventing further damage to the soldier. She swung at the mage's arm causing it to flinch, the mage turned towards Jen, it shouted, "KILL!" Thunder started to emerge out of its hands, Jen took a closer look at the thunder and realized that it was thundara. That was going to be painful. The lightening struck Jen, she then realized that she couldn't feel anything,_ "Hooray for damaged nerves!"_ Jen ran at the mage as the lightening continued to strike her, she couldn't feel it, but the lightening was burning her skin. She swung at the mage, stabbing it in the chest, lightening transferred from her sword into its chest causing the mage to electrocute its self. The mage fell over. Jen took her sword out of the mage, she turned over to see the other soldiers fighting their own battles, this was ridiculous. The black mages finshed one soldier off, taking his bell, it walked towards the door and rang the bell, the bell in the door had a pretty sound to it.

A soldier looked over to Jen, "Go, go tell Lindblum we need help!"

Jen shook her head, "One of you can take the chocobo, I'll stay!"

The soldier argued, "This isn't your fight, leave, you're wasting time! Take this and give it to the Regent himself! He'll know what it is! Now just go!"

Jen knew what would happen to them if she left, she couldn't bring herself to it. A soldier then grabbed Jen, he dragged her to the chocobo and hopped on while holding her, he shouted, "We'll go!" He kicked Choco and he started running, knowing where to go.

Jen looked to the soldier, he was badly wounded,_ "He must've used his last strength to pull that off...He's blind...How did he?"_

The soldier answered her question, he somehow knew what she was thinking, "Rats have an incredible sense of smell...I can smell you and the chocobo....We can also smell enemies from miles away...Well most enemies."

Jen could hear that the soldier was having trouble breathing, she looked as he bled from his wounds, Jen didn't know how deep they were but she quickly pulled out a potion and handed it to him, the soldier took the potion and sucked it down, he tossed the empty vile. Jen then handed him another in case it wasn't enough, he took it and did the same as he did to the first. He still had trouble breathing, Jen wondered if he needed another, "Are you going to be okay?"

The soldier chuckled, he thought something was funny about that question, he took a moment before replying, "I'm more worried about Burmecia than myself...How long until we reach Lindblum?"

Jen looked around, she recognized the marsh they were passing it wouldn't be long until they reached the Dragons Gate, she turned to the soldier who was obviously dying. She didn't understand it, she was used to people dying, old people at least but for some reason watching him made her stomach turned. Was it because he was younger and people shouldn't die young? Or was this something that could happen to Josh or Ryan? Jen didn't want to think about that, she tried shaking those thoughts by answering the soldier's question, "We'll be there soon."

Choco came to a halt as they reached the Dragon's Gate. Jen hopped off and helped the soldier down, she put one arm around him and led him inside where she found the merchant and the moogle and a Lindblum guard. The guard came rushing over as he saw the state they both were in. He acted as if the world was coming to an end, even though it sorta was, "W-what happened!?"

Jen looked up to the guard, "We need to see the Regent, it's an international affair."

The guard ran over to the gate and yelled for the other guards to open the gate, it wasn't long until they got the gate up. Jen led the Burmecian soldier to the cable car, she looked over to the Lindblum guard, "Here, take him to the Regent!"

The guard nodded taking the soldier from her, they got into the car, she watched as they sped off. Another guard looked at Jen and asked, "What about you? You look pretty beat up yourself."

Jen sighed, "I'll be fine...I'll hang out here for a bit."

The guard then said, "Well we have to close the gate for security purposes, you have to decide if you're gonna be in or out."

Jen leaned up against the wall, dropping down onto her butt, she replied, "I...I'll stay out here."

The guard raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you're going to be to fine?" He noticed the burns on her hands, anyone with burns like that would be in pain, he walked over to her and bent down next to her, he then ordered, "Hold out your hands."

Jen stared at the guard for a moment before holding them out, she looked down and saw that they were burnt, "How did...Oh...Yeah, that would makes sense."

The guard pulled out an elixir and poured it on Jen's hands, "Here, that should help." The elixir gave away a greenish light that traveled up to her arms and chest and was soon glowing all around her.

Jen watched as she was covered in the glow, "What's going on?"

The light soon faded and the answered, "You must've had more injuries from your battle. That's the great thing about elixirs."

Jen commented, "I've always wondered why they're so cheap...And yet it's like a potion/ether mix...Doesn't make sense."

The guard laughed, "I can't figure it out either." He stood up and walked over towards the gate, "I'll see you around." He signaled to some other guards and they lowered the gate.

Jen watched as he left, now came the waiting game.

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It is snowing outside.

Tell me what you think!

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	9. Chapter 9

**Alright! I'm on a roll!**

**Thanks to those who took their precious time to review! Love ya!**

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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_"Dagger...Where are you going...?"_

Jen had started to nod off, she didn't even hear the guards reopen the gate, what did wake her was the screeching halt the cable car came to. She jumped to her feet to find Dagger and Steiner getting out of the cable car, they stared at eachother for a moment before Steiner asked, "Miss Jennifer, was it you who brought the Burmecian soldier here?"

Jen slowly nodded her head, she asked already knowing his fate, "Yeah, how is he?"

As expected, Steiner dropped his head, "He did not make it."

Jen said trying to hide the sadness in her voice, she didn't want to show any kind of weakness, "That's...Terrible, he was a nice guy..."

Dagger was trying to get the focus off the soldier, it really was a depressing topic, "You seem fine, did you even make it to Burmecia?"

Jen replied, "Yeah, I couldn't get through though. I was trying to explain myself when the...mages attacked. That soldier, he told me to leave but I couldn't bring myself to do it, so he forced me to leave by dragging me away from the battle." Jen wondered if she should've brought that bit up, she mentally kicke herself for saying that.

Dagger responded with a hint of confidence in her tone, "I'm going to try to stop my Mother on my own. Zidane wouldn't let me go with him to Burmecia so I've decided to go off on my own. The last thing I need is a babysitter."

Jen gave a small laugh it was like Zidane to protect people, "Don't tell me you put the sleeping weed in his food."

Steiner was surprised Jen had figured it out with just one guess, "How did you know?"

Jen gave a small shrug trying to act cool, "It seems like something she would do. Well anyway I'm going with you."

Dagger was caught off guard by her words, "No, I can't allow you to go, this is something I have to do on my own."

Jen gave another shrug, "Well if I stay here do you really think Zidane is going to let me go with him? Because I don't, and I sure don't want to be stuck here. Also you might need the help." Jen thought for a moment, she wanted to wait for Zidane, she wanted to go to Cleyra to watch Freya dance but she knew that Zidane would try to say that she wasn't strong enough to go into a war zone. Yeah, it was a little overwhelming when she was there in the Grotto but that was because she was on her own. She wondered if that was really Ryan,_ "He used to play with his Grandpa's crossbow all the time. Maybe he's looking for Josh as well..."_

During that long moment of silence, Dagger debated on whether she should go or not before making a decision, "Well we may need the help."

Jen smiled trying to forget about Josh and Ryan, "We're going to have so much fun traveling together with just us girls! And Steiner too!"

Dagger noticed the sudden cheeriness in Jen's voice, it was quite unusual for her to be around someone with that personality. Also given the situation Dagger wouldn't normally be excited the same way Jen was, actually there are few people who would act that way. She watched as Jen ran over to the exit, waiting for herself and Steiner. Steiner even noticed the strange behavior, he whispered to her, "Princess, we are on our way to discuss a very important matter with the Queen, I don't understand, why is she happy?"

Dagger didn't answer right away, she watched Jen for a moment trying to figure it out, "I don't think she's happy, I think she's being happy...For us. I don't understand why she is doing it though."

Steiner too the Princess's words into consideration, "Then she must think highly of us to go out of her way."

Jen stood there watching the two of them talking to eachother,_ "They're probably unsure if they want my company. Well that's too bad for them because I'm going! I'm not going to get left behind like Quina!"_ She whistled and then shouted, "Hurry up!"

Dagger looked to Steiner who nodded to the Princess and said to her, "Let us be on our way."

Dagger walked over to Jen saying, "We have to follow Ceebell River in order to get to South Gate."

Jen handed Dagger the map she got from Mene, "Here, I got this from a moogle in Chocobo Forest."

Dagger took the map it was slightly different from the one Zidane had, _"Do all moogles carry maps around?"_

The three of them walked outside Jen realized that Choco was gone_, "He probably went back to the forest_..." They headed north from the Dragon's Gate following the map to Ceebell River, they had come across a few monsters along the way but it was nothing. Dagger semed to be the weak one out of the group which made Jen feel a lot better. Steiner of course was the strong one but that's only because he's been a knight for X amount of years. Jen didn't have to use any potions to heal the cuts she recieved in battle, Dagger used her Cure. To Jen it felt weird being out in the mist, there was alot of space and even though there were monsters crawling everywhere, somehow it seemed empty, maybe when the mist is gone, people will start building homes or casinos down here. Dagger looked at the map, "The river is just ahead, it's also not that far from South Gate." They continued walking.

Steiner who was always proud of the Princess of her findings and achievements exclaimed with pride, "Wonderful Princess! Your navigating skills are impeccable! Her Majesty herself would be please!"

Jen could've scoffed at Steiner and been rude but she decided to chime in with Steiner, "It's a good thing you have the map, if I were guiding us, we would be lost!" Jen started to laugh but then imagined her guiding them to North Gate on accident and being attacked by Squad Beatrix and the black mages, _"That wouldn't be good at all..."_

Dagger then asked out of blue changing the subject to Zidane, she was obviously thinking about him, "Do you think Zidane will be angry that I did that to him?"

Jen knew that he wasn't mad, she just had to convice Dagger, "No, if anything, he's worried about you. I'm sure he thinks you're going to Burmecia. If I were in your shoes, I'm sure I would've done the same thing. But what I don't get is, why your Mother fired those cannons. That was pretty dangerous, she could've hit you."

Steiner responded for the Princess, justifying the Queens actions, "Her Majesty was overwhelmed with concern for the Princess's safety, your parents would do the same, would they not?"

Jen thought for a long moment. It's not often she talks about her parents in fact she rarely talks about them, it always brought back sad memories, memories that should be kept to herself. She never even shared the memories with Ryan, only with Josh if he ever had questions about Dad. Jen said slowly, "I'm...I'm sure they would have."

Dagger was quick to have caught the last part, she always paid close attention to every word that was spoken, as she learned from her teacher and asked, "Would have?"

Jen nodded her head, knowing they were expecting an answer, and knew they would regret asking, "They died. When I was 9 my father died, he was sick. Then two years later my mom, she died in an accident, I...Asked her--no I begged her to show up at my piano recital...She never showed. My mom's friend took me home, I was really mad because she had been paying more attention to Josh. on the way home we saw what appeared to be an accident, I recognized...my mom, I ran over to her, she just looked at me, she was bleeding pretty bad. I knew she wasn't going to make it, I wanted her to, I prayed she would, the only words I could think of to say that would hopefully make it better was, "I'm sorry." She looked at me...and then she was gone." Jen looked over to her comrades to find that both Dagger and Steiner each had a tear in their eyes, she then added to the story, "That's the first time I talked about it in years..."

Steiner who wiped away a few tears said with a crack in his voice, "My apologies, please excuse my indiscretion." It wasn't the first time he had opened his mouth without thinking.

Dagger cued in automatically, "Yes we're so sorry, we didn't know."

Jen shook her head, she also shook off the memories as they replayed in her mind, the car, the snow, and the tree, the whole thing was starting to eat at her spirit again, "It's okay, that's why I'm traveling to find my brother, he's the only family I have left."

Dagger was trying to think of a way to help, she then concluded and said, "Since you're coming with me to help restore my Mother to her former self, I'll help you get your brother back!"

Steiner didn't like the sound of her idea, he just wanted to escort her to the palace but he did want to help Miss Jennifer, "I'm sure we can find a way to get him back!"

Jen didn't want them going out of their way, she also knew Steiner wanted to focus on his duties in protecting the Princess, but to make everyone feel better she replied with a smile, "Sure, it might be easier to locate him if I have some help!"

Dagger once again focused the subject on Zidane, it was quite apparent that she was crushing on him, "Do you think Zidane is awake by now?"

Jen nodded her head as she stepped over some monster poo, which was an orange-ish color, the smell was horrible she wondered why Dagger wasn't complaining about it, maybe they were used to the funky smell, she replied, "I'm sure he's worried sick."

Dagger then asked a question that almost caused Jen to trip over herself, "Did Zidane ask you to go with him on an airship cruise, you know, like a date?"

Jen was shocked, yeah, she liked Zidane alot, who wouldn't fall for him? he's amazing, but he's also a fictional character the hero always gets the girl, she answered honestly, "No, I'm sure he asked some random bar girl out and forgotten who he had asked. It sounds like him." Steiner did not like where this conversation was going, the mere thought of the Princess with that theif angered him, it caused his blood pressure to go up just hearing them talk like that, he then thought of his duty and did his best to ignore it until Jen asked, "Hey Steiner, what do you think of Beatrix?"

Steiner nearly stopped in his tracks as his heart nearly stopped, his stomach turned, "I think Beatrix is always trying to one up me, trying to make my men look bad."

Jen asked, pushing the knight's buttons, "No, I mean do you like her?"

Steiner's face was nearly red, it could not be determined if he was mad or if he was simply blushing, the thought was resolved once he stuttered, "N-no, that's absurd!"

Jen kept pushing the issue, "You're a man and she's a woman, you both serve the Queen, Princess, and Alexandria, I would imagine that the thought has crossed your mind at least once."

Steiner cleared his throat trying to get out of this, he came up with the best answer he could think of, "No I have not, this is not something that should be discussed. Let us not lose sight of our mission."

Jen quietly giggled and whispered into Dagger's ear, "At least we know there's a 'thing'."

This was something Dagger never even imagined, at first she didn't understand what Jen was saying, she let the conversation sink in, she looked over to Steiner and wanted to say something, but she turned her head and decided not to, she didn't want to upset him.

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The effects of the sleeping weed wore off, everyone woke up except for Vivi who really was tired. Freya who them commented, "It seems it was some sort of sleeping medicine."

Zidane who was guilty of supplying her of it said, ""It was sleeping weed. I gave her some because she said she was having problems sleeping...Wait, where's Jen?"

Freya who was still being introduced to the posse, was confused, "Who?"

Vivi woke up in time to hear Zidane explain, "Jen, she's a Noble, she traveled with us to get here, she said she was looking for her brother."

Freya wasn't getting Zidane, what would a Noble have to do with this situation? She asked, "So where would she be?"

Vivi then said like any innocent child would who didn't know what was going on, "Zidane knocked Jen out and asked the Regent if she could have room to rest in."

Zidane then said quickly trying to defend himself as he was just made out to be the bad guy in Vivi's story, he explained, "Well we had just arrived at Lindblum and she was already trying to go to Burmecia on her own. She doesn't know the area at all and she hasn't been fighting long, I asked her to wait and to think about it but she kept saying..." He realized that Jen's worst fears had come alive.

The Regents's curiosity was piqued, he couldn't help but ask because he was now intrigued with the thief's story, "What? What did she say?"

Zidane stuttered as he recollected the arguement that led up to the fight, "She kept saying that Queen Brahne was going to attack Burmecia, that those mages were going to be used for war. Jen said she felt Burmecia was the perfect target because she said Cleyra has a huge dust storm surrounding it. I dunno if that's true or not but..."

Freya thought for a moment, not too many people know about the dust storm, "There is a dust storm that surrounds the tree, it's to protect the people from intruders. How did she know that?"

Zidane thought of all the small incidents that led up to that same question, "I always seem to be asking the same question. On our way here she knew about the Hilda Garde 2."

The Regent was shocked, he thought he had kept that a secret from the people, "There's no way she could've known about that! The only ones who know about it are the engineers, Minister Artania, and myself!"

From what Freya had just heard about Jen, she wasn't so sure of her or if she could trust her, "Well it seems that there is more to the Princess than meets the eye and it also appears this 'Jen' knows more than she should meaning..."

Zidane wanted to know what she was getting at, "Meaning?"

The Regent responded for Freya, as if he was accusing Jen, "Meaning she could be a spy!"

Zidane then thought of the situation, he didn't like what he was hearing but figured it wasn't fair to automatically accuse Jen of being a spy since she was not present to defend herself.

Freya then cut in she was a bit upset that they had wasted this much time, "We must go to Burmecia at once, surely the gate is open by now!"

Zidane agreed with the dragon knight, "C'mon Vivi! We're going to Burmecia! I just hope Dagger didn't go there."

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It's cold out, I dunno if I like it or not.

Tell me what you think!

**And as always, your review could save a life!**

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	10. Chapter 10

**Yes Thanksgiving delayed my writing. I was out spending time with the family.**

**Thanks to those who took their precious time to review! Love ya!**

**I do not own so please enjoy!**

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The South Gate Grand Citadel was just before Dagger, Steiner and Jen, they each stood in the shadows, in the bushes and behind some trees thinking of a way to get past the two guards. Jen knew how Dagger was going to get by, but she didn't know how she would get through. Dagger finally stated, "Well you can sneak me in with a bag of pickles."

Steiner shook his head that had to be one of the worst ideas he had ever heard of, "That is impossible, where are we going to find a bag of pickles out here in the middle of nowhere?"

Dagger pointed over to an old man who was having troubles carrying a bag of pickles, "Over there, I'm sure if we reason with him we can make some kind of deal. Then we'll empty out the pickles, stuff my clothes over me, then throw the pickles on top to hide me in case the guards want to know what's inside."

Jen bobbed her head, knowing that the plan would work, "That's not a bad idea but what about me? I don't think they're looking for me as well but then what if they are?"

Dagger shurgged, the bag was only big enough for one person, she then though of a classic plan that should work, "Well, if the guards do happen to look in the bag and if they see the pickles and my clothes, Steiner could say that his 'wife' packed his favorite snack and that she insisted she bring a change of clothing for she wishes to stay with him."

Steiner's jaw practically came unhinged, the Princess's first idea was one thing but that was dragging it out to a whole different level, he looked over to Jen, who was now staring at him, it was quite noticeable that she was in as much shock as he was, he looked over to the Princess, "That is nonsense! There's no way! She is too young for them to believe that we are m-married!"

Dagger thought this was a bit amusing, both of them wore horrified expressions, she continued to push the idea off, hoping they would both comply, "If they mention anything, you can say it was an arranged marriage and that you got the better end of the deal. As I see it, this is the only way we can get through, so Steiner go buy the bag of pickles from that old gentleman, give him a good deal, I'm sure he's tired of carrying that around."

Steiner knew better than to argue with a royal family member, especially the Princess, he stepped back in line and saluted her, "Yes m'am!"

Dagger looked over to Jen who still hadn't said anything. Jen needed time for this to sink in, she looked over to the Princess and slowly asked in a nervous and somewhat scared tone, "You want me to pretend to be _his_ wife?" She continued trying to find some humor in this, "You know Dagg. You owe me big time for this one." Dagger nodded her head and Jen quickly added as Steiner came back with the bag of pickles, "This is never to be repeated to anyone, not even Zidane. He would never let it go."

Steiner imagined Zidane making a fool out of him in front of the Knights of Pluto, he knew his reputation would be ruined, he would not only be the laughing stock of Beatrix and her squad, but the laughing stock of his men as well, that was too much humiliation, more than he could handle, he could imagine the Queen thinking less of him for doing that to a young girl and the Princess, he saw his career ending in a flash, he dropped the bag onto the ground, "I gave the man 400 Gil for the bag, he said if he took anymore he would be stealing from us."

Dagger then asked Steiner to go stand watch outside of the bushes so she could change, while Steiner was watching one end Jen walked further into the forest to make sure there were no monsters or bandits lurking around. She looked at her clothes, they were pretty dirty but it must be common. Daggers clothes are dirty and she seems to be okay with it. Jen heard Dagger call out, "Jen come cover me with my clothes first, then the pickles." Jen shrugged and did as the Princess ordered, she tied the knot to the bag and grabbed the pole, she slid it through the knot and handed it over to Steiner.

Steiner took the pole and lifted the bag over his shoulder, he struggled at first but he gained his balance, he said reassuringly to Dagger, "This bag is very light, I can't even tell your in there Princess."

Jen looked at Steiner, "Well, let's get this over with."

Both Jen and Steiner slowly walked towards the South Gate Grand Citadel, as they approached the two guards, they were stopped by a short guard who held out his right hand as his other hand held a spear, this made Jen nervous as she remembered when the Burmecians pointed their spears at her, the short guard brought her back to reality as he said, "Hold it right there."

The tall guard standing near the short guard asked in a serious tone as if he was a business man, "What's the purpose of your visit?"

Steiner almost sounded uncertain as he stated, "I heard workers were needed to fix South Gate. I brought my belongings so that I might live and work here."

Jen quickly said as she was nervous too, "I came along with him to make sure he doesn't fool around."

The short guard looked at Jen and raised an eyebrow, "And who are you?"

Steiner looked at Jen and then to the short guard, he slowly started, "She is my wife." Jen could tell that Steiner had to force out the 'wife' part. Steiner swallowed the remaining saliva in his mouth hoping that the guards would believe him.

The tall guard sounded very pleased to hear this, they must've needed more workers as he said, "That's great! They've been working on the gate non-stop since the accident but it's still broken."

The short guard then said to Steiner using his officer tone, "I need to check your bag. Rules and regualtions, you know."Jen watched as Steiner froze, he reluctantly set the bag down and looked that guards, the short guard then asked, "Would you both step back?" Both Jen and Steiner took two steps back and watched as the guard as he tried to open the bag.

The tall guard then said, "There's, that's good. Sorry, just doing our job. So where are you from?" Jen looked over to Steiner wondering if he was going to say something, she watched as he muttered something under his breath, the tall guard continued, "The police are searching for a girl and a middle aged man. You both fit the profile...except the discription is a little off. The girl supposedly looks alot like Princess Garnet, did you see a pair like that on your way here?"

Steiner shook his head, "No, I have not." He obviously had his attention on the short guard.

The short guard who had been struggling with the knot finally exclaimed, "There! Got it!"

The tall guard continued, "But you know how Queen Brahne looks. It's hard to believe that she'd have such a beautiful daughter." Jen also wondered how it was that Queen Brahne had a daughter that resembled Dagger. It did seem impossible. The king of Alexandria must have been a real hunk.

The short guard then shouted gaining everyones attention, "Ungh! WHAT IS THIS!? Wh-what is that!? What are those...those rotten things!? Are they poison!?"

Steiner almost sounded offended by the short guards remark, "Rotten? I'm not carrying anything that is rotting..."

The tall guard then said realizing what his partner was harping about, "Oh, it's your least favourite food...The Lindblum delicacy, gysahl pickles. I can't believe how many you brought with you!"

Steiner tried assuring them with a postive attitude, "My wife packed them! They are my Favourite! I cannot start my day without them! Isn't that right honey?"

Jen blushed, she was mortified, but she smiled and said happily, "He can't."

The tall guard decided they were clear, "Yeah sure, people who like 'em all say that."

The short guard then said something that made Jen furious, it also made Steiner a bit scared, he was afriad to look at Jen after he said, "You know, I like your wife, she only speaks when spoken to, that's a good quality in a wife, make sure you keep her in line or she'll start acting like the rest of them if ya know what I mean." Steiner did not know how to repsond to this, so he said nothing. Jen had to stop herself from beating the guy down to a bloody pulp, it took every ounce of strength she had to restrain herself, she had to keep her character, and keep reminding her that this was for Dagger.

The tall guard felt his friend was talking too much, "You can go now."

Steiner said with relief, "Thank you." He picked up the bag and started to walk through the gate as the guards opened it for them, "Good day."

Steiner then whispered to Dagger, "We're inside the gate! Princess, you've done it again. I must find a spot where I won't be seen." Steiner looked left, then right, and kept looking right, "That alley looks acceptable. But a girl and a man are in the way. Miss Jennifer, stay here while I deal with them."

Jen almost felt insulted by his order after what that short guard had said to her. She knew it wasn't Steiner's fault, so she didn't hold it against him. She watched as Steiner walked off to talk to the man. Jen was half tempted to go back out and beat that guy up, he was short, she could take him on. It wasn't long until Steiner spoke to Mary, that part-time worker, she ran over to go talk to the guy who went out of business. Steiner then signaled to Jen that the coast was clear. Jen started over towards Steiner but was soon stopped by the short guard, "Hey, hold on! Rules and regulations, would you come here?"

Jen turned around and slowly walked over to the short guard, he ticked her off again by saying, "No, I want your husband to come here as well, man talk." Steiner walked over to the short guard who then ordered, "Stop right there! Don't make a move until I tell you! Now, turn toward me slowly... Don't make a false move. Phew...You need a Gate Pass to reach the South Gate summit. I'm leaving it right here. Pick it up after I leave. I'd come closer, but you're carrying those stinky pickles! See? I'm leaving it right here!" After the short guard left, Steiner picked it up, both Jen and Steiner walked over to the alley.

Jen finally said, "I can't believe that guy."

Steiner set the bag down and cleared his throat, "Ahem...Tis foolishness! If all were so easy, why, none would suffer in this world!"

Dagger then asked, "Steiner...? Is it okay for me to come out?"

Even though Dagger was still in the bag, Steiner saluted her, "Yes!"

Dagger replied, "Thank you. I will come out now. Please keep an eye out."

Jen helped Steiner keep an eye out for anyone, she knew there was nothing to be afraid of, she just didn't want to watch or help Dagger because she was saturated in the scent of nasty pickles. Dagger finally said, "You guys can turn around now."

Steiner saluted Dagger again, "Princess!" Jen was unsure why he did that...

Dagger then scolded the knight, "Steiner! You can't call me that anymore and you can't salute me either, not until we reach Treno."

Steiner compromised, "Yes miss Dagger, until we reach Treno and find a way back to the castle, I will be careful."

Jen then said, "Alright, let's go!"

Steiner and Dagger nodded and they three of them made their way to the cable car. As they approached it, Dagger exclaimed, "Wow! That cable car will take us to the summit. We're almost there, Alexandria is just beyond the summit. I managed it without idane's help!" She sounded proud of herself.

Steiner said trying to convince Dagger that she could do anything on her own, "You never needed him to begin with, Princess." Jen noticed that he slipped and called her 'Princess' she decided not to call him on it.

Dagger didn't say anything, she knew she needed his help from the start, this reminded her how helpless she was. The three of them walked up to the conductor who asked for the pass, it was a wonder that he didn't expect all three of them to have their own individual passes, Jen thought it was better to ignore this. After the conductor informed them that they would be departing shortly, the made their way into the air cab and found a seat. Jen sat next Dagger as Steiner talked to Mary. After he sat down the cable car then took off. Dagger stated, "I feel more relaxed now."

Steiner agreed, "That is understandable. Our journey from Lindblum was very tough. But...it was your white magic that helped me through the battles against all those monsters...your fortitude that got us past the obnoxious moogles in Chocobo's Forest...and finally, your idea to use gysahl pickles to get past the South Gate guards! I am thoroughly impressed by your intelligence and courage, Princess!"

Dagger then said quickly catching the knights mistake, "Steiner, you can't call me that."

Steiner noticed his mistake, "My apologies, I'm just not used to..." His voice trailed off.

Dagger forgave Steiner, "It's okay. I made lots of mistakes whe Zidane taught me how to talk like this."

For whatever reason, Steiner was annoyed whenever Dagger gave credit to Zidane, it was amusing,"That peasant had no manners whatsoever! Although...he did have some wit for a bumpkin, but...The way he spoke to you was simply unacceptable!I say good riddance."

Jen felt invisible but she didn't care at the moment, she was tired and sitting down made her acknowledge that fact, she dozed off into a dream, a dream that was a reality. It was as if she was there but not physically, she witnessed a battle, the battle between Beatrix and Zidane, along with the others. She could only see but not hear what was going on, it was like a silent film. There was another person there, someone Jen recognized, he was fighting someone she couldn't see, the figure was a shadow. The person she did recognize was...Ryan. Jen tried screaming out to him but nothing was heard. She watched as the shadow pierced Ryan in the chest, he fell. Jen kept crying out, "Ryan! Ryan! No!" The shadow figure then left with Kuja on the silver dragon, the dream started to fade out and Jen kept crying out, "Ryan! Come back! Come back!"

She was soon awaken by Dagger who had a frightened expression on her face, she asked Jen, "Are you alright?"

Jen felt sick to her stomach, the dream was vivid it made her want to puke, "Yeah, bad dream, that's all..." At least that's what she hoped it was and nothing more.

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Dun-dun-duuun.

Tell me what you think!

**And as always, your review could save a life!**

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	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry, but I'm not getting much reviews. No reviews = No motivation to post anymore chapters. It fills my heart heavy with sorrow. I made this chapter short because no one reviewed the last chapter. People are adding the story which is good.**

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She was soon awaken by Dagger who had a frightened expression on her face, she asked Jen, "Are you alright?"

Jen felt sick to her stomach, the dream was vivid it made her want to puke, "Yeah, bad dream, that's all..." At least that's what she hoped it was and nothing more.

Rain drops fell softly on Zidane's skin, it felt like wet kisses that kept reminding him that he was alive, he slowly lifted his head up to see the man who jumped in the way of the man who was with Queen Brahne. He slowly stood and staggered his way over to him, the body still moved. Zidane kicked him lightly before falling down to the ground, "Hey buddy...wake up. What's your name?" Zidane didn't get an immediate response so he leaned over him holding his shoulder and smacked his face.

The man opened his eyes to see Zidane leaning in over him, he asked, "Why?...Why did you let Kuja take Josh? Where's Jen?....What did you do to Jen? Is she alright?"

Zidane blinked, _"Did he just say 'Josh'?"_ For a guy who was messed up as badly as he was, he sure wanted answers, Zidane closed his eyes for a second before reopening them, "I didn't let that guy take Josh, he went on his own. In fact he's the one who...Jen isn't here, I thought she would be but she's not. To be honest I don't know where she is." Zidane looked up, he stared at the spot where he saw the silver dragon take off.

The man said quietly, "Then...she's safe. Take care of her."

Zidane was about to reply but he felt the mans body go limp, he turned to him, "Hey! Wake up!" He shooke the mans body, he was dead. Zidane didn't know how this guy knew Jen, her brother Josh, and this man named 'Kuja'. He looked at the guy,_ "I don't think I can tell Jen about this...She's been looking for her brother all this time. I can't believe her brother murdered someone. I thought he was dead when she didn't find him in Lindblum and that it would only be a matter of time before she realized it too..."_ Zidane was soon snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Freya groan. He pushed himself up and made his way over to Freya, "Can you stand?"

Freya nodded her head, "Yes, I am fine. But who was that man with the small child?"

Zidane half shrugged, "I have no idea...The guy over there said his name was 'Kuja'...The kid who was with him is Jen's brother...Josh."

Freya thought for a few moments before saying, "Josh killed that man...He was obviously in on the attack on Burmecia. Perhaps Jen also knows something about this man named Kuja."

Zidane didn't like the notion of Jen being in on a huge scheme like this,_ "Did she know about this? Was she trying to stop this on her own? If I hadn't stopped her she would've been killed too."_ He looked over the body lying still, the mans words echoed in his head, _"I swear, I will protect Jen."_ He looked over to Freya, "They said they were going to Cleyra."

Freya nodded her head regaining whatever confidence she had lost in battle, "We have no choice! We must go to Cleyra too!"

Steiner watched a sleeping Princess and a noble who was also sleeping on the Princess's shoulder. The sight warmed his heart and it reminded him of when the Princess was smaller. He remembered how the small Princess would run around the garden begging the cooks to play with her and how she would make guards play dress up and have tea with her whenever her Father was away, she never had any real friends. Steiner looked over to Miss Jennifer as she slept on her shoulder, normally no one of importance would be allowed to ride the tram with a member of the royal family, this was considered a privilege among many. Steiner who was now tired of sitting stood up and walked over to the conductor, "How much longer until we reach the Alexandria?"

The conductor looked at the knight, "Very shortly."

Steiner gave a small salute and said to the man before returning back to the Princess, "Thank you."

Steiner approached both the Princess and Jen, he debated on waking either one of them. He didn't want to wake the Princess because he was advised a while back to never disturb royalty when they slept and after Miss Jennifer's nightmare he wondered if it was a result of exhaustion. He decided to make his stand, "The conductor said we'll be arriving at the Summit Station soon. Prin...Ahem...Miss Dagger?"

Jen could hear Steiner beckoning the Princess while she slept, his voice seemed so far away that she could barely tell that it was him. She dreamt she was flying in the sky, soaring over mountains and forests and soon a rough terrain, sandy, she recognized it from somewhere. The cable car came to a screeching halt waking both Dagger and Jen.

Dagger opened her eyes first and looked to Steiner, "Oh, we're here."

Jen pushed herself off of Dagger, "That seemed quick."

Dagger looked over to Jen, "I'm surprised you were able to get back to sleep."

Jen reached down under her seat and grabbed her ronin sword, she recalled the dream and replied hiding her face which was full of fear, "Yeah, it was a...pretty bad dream..."

Dagger was curious, she wanted to know what she dreamed of, "Was it a dream of a past memory?"

Jen stood up and looked to Dagger, she didn't feel comfortable talking about it with her but then maybe it was good to talk about these things, "Well...I dreamt of Zidane, Freya, Vivi, and someone else...They were fighting in Burmecia, somehow my friend Ryan he was there, and he was killed..."

Dagger was more than curious now, she had to know, "Who were they fighting?"

Jen shrugged, she lied knowing that if she told her the truth it would upset her, "I dunno. I couldn't see."

Steiner felt that this was nonsense that Princess didn't need to be hearing, she was obviously rattled by the claims of her own Mother starting a war and for Miss Jennifer to saying such things wasn't making anything better. In fact she was causing the Princess to worry, "I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, let us move on."

Jen nodded her hoping that Steiner was right, she could also see that the knight was upset with her words, she looked down, the last thing she wanted to do was to make him irritated, "I'm sure you're right, I apologize for bringing it up. I'll meet you in the station." With that she turned and walked away stepping off the cable car. Dagger and Steiner got off moments after her, discussing about home. Jen thought to herself as she walked, her feet seemed to guide her as if they knew where to go, _"Home...Will I ever go home?...What if I can't go back? What will I do? I still haven't found Josh, what if he's not here? Then when all of this is over and done with, I'll be here alone..."_ Jen then walked into something causing her to fall backwards onto the ground,_ "A pole!?"_

Jen looked up to see a familiar face lookig down at her, "You okay?" He extended a hand out to her, offering her to help her up.

Jen grabbed the hand, "Thanks Marcus. I'm fine."

Marcus pulled her up and replied, "Wow, a Noble remembered my name."

Jen laughed, "Of course I would, why wouldn't I you remembered mine."

Marcus was silent.

Jen then began to glare at him, "You forgot didn't you?"

Marcus didn't like the tone in her voice, in fact it scared him, he was nervous as he answered her, "You never told me."

Jen stomped her foot, "I SOOO told you my name and you know I did! You forgot and you just won't admit it because for whatever reason you're scared!"

Marcus shot back, "I'm not scared of some Noble who's a childish rookie!"

Jen shouted, "I'm not childish!"

Marcus shout back, "Yes you are, you stomped your foot like a kid! And you're shouting too!"

Jen was still yelling, "Well you're shouting too!"

Marcus replied, his voice still raised, he was getting quite excited over this, his face was starting to turn red from frustration, "I'm only shouting cos you're shouting! I don't know what else to do but shout!"

Jen then said calmly, "Fine, since you forgot my name, I will tell you again, so listen up, it's Jen-ni-fer, but call me Jen. Geez, I hope all guys aren't as bad as you when it comes to remembering a pretty girls name."

Marcus said with much unwanted sarcasim, "Pretty girl? Where?"

Just as he finished his statement, Cinna walked in, "Hey Jen what are you doing here?"

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	12. Chapter 12

**Yay! I received some reviews! I've also noticed that there are people adding my story! Thanks! I know this chapter might seem dull and full of small talk but this is good for building, you'll get what I'm talking about in future chapters!**

**I don't own.  
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Marcus and Jen both turned their heads over to Cinna, Marcus then turned his head to Jen and asked as a wave of curiosity hit him, "Yeah, what are you doing here? And where's Zidane?"

Jen glanced to Marcus and then back to Cinna, "Well you see, it's kind of a long story. I'm here with the Princess and we're on our way to Alexandria because Princess Garnet wants to try stopping her Mother who attacked Burmecia which is where Zidane and the others went. Huh. That wasn't so long."

Just as Jen finished her sentence Steiner came walking in, he froze in his steps as he laid his eyes on the two members of Tantalus who caused him the grief of having to escort the Princess home safely, the only words he could think of at the time weren't enough to describe his hardship, "Scoundrels!!!"

Jen was startled by his elevated voice, when that knight wanted to yell, he yelled. She was sure the workers here were not use to all of the commotion that was and had been taking place.

Steiner then asked in a not so friendly tone, "Are you here to kidnap the Princess again!?"

Jen was bored by this, she walked over to a man selling catered goods, she bent down to where her eyes met some cakes, brownies and cookies that were covered by glass case, similar to the ones at a jewelry store. She pointed at a cake that appeared to be purple and covered with nuts, "What's that?"

The baker looked down to Jen, he almost seemed disgusted that she didn't even know what kind of cake that was, "It's a common dish, Crawler Cake, it's covered with chestnuts."

Jen felt chills go down her spine,_ "Great...more food made out of monsters...This is something I will never get used to. Why can't this place have simple foods...Like pizza."_ She dropped her head in sorrow and let out a sigh, she stood up and smiled down to the small baker, "Thanks anyways." Jen walked back over to the group where she noticed Dagger was already there and she appeared to be scolding Steiner.

Her thoughts were confirmed as she heard Cinna snicker to Marcus, "He's bein' scolded."

Marcus was grinning ear to ear and replied to his friend, "How embarrassing."

As he finished his comment a loud noise then startled Jen, who jumped causing Marcus to look at her, "Relax, it's just the cable car."

Jen looked over to Marcus, she felt stupid for jumping, and even stupider for being caught, her hands found their way quickly to her ears as she heard the squealing brakes of the cable car.

An attendant suddenly appeared, "The cable car to Alexandria has arrived!"

Cinna shouted to Marcus, "It's here!"

Jen said with a hint of sarcasm, "Oh really? Couldn't tell..."

Marcus who heard Jen's comment, looked over to Cinna, he felt that he had to remind his friend, "But you're goin' to Lindblum."

Jen couldn't tell if Cinna was either forgot where he was going or if he was worried about Baku getting mad that he missed the cable car, she remembered the ATE scene where Baku punched Cinna for miss the cable car. Jen let out a sigh before saying, "Cinna, you better not miss the next cable car going back to Lindblum, you don't want Baku to hurt you with his Super Tornado Tantalus Punch, now do you?"

The image of fear flooded the ugly mans face, he began trembling at the mere thought of it.

Marcus looked over to Jen, "How did you know about that punch?"

Jen noticed Dagger looking over at her as well, _"Well I can't say Zidane told me..."_ Jen stuttered as she started her story, "I-I heard it on the streets from some random people when I was in Lindblum. Some guys in the uh Inudustrial District they were talking and Baku's name came up, and they were saying how they wouldn't want to get into a fight with Baku and one of them said something about that...punch." There was a second of silence and Jen then announced, "I'll be on the cable car if you need me!" She then made her way out of the station skipping two steps at a time as she quickly half ran down the stairs, "_Keeps getting closer and closer. How many lies have I told now? This isn't me! I never lie! Well, the old me didn't lie, I guess the new me does."_ Jen made her way onto the cable car and sat down she let out a sigh thinking back on all of her lies, _"It all started in Evil Forest I suppose. When will it stop? I guess it won't as long as I'm stuck here. I can't just tell them they are not real, that their lives have no real meaning. I would look crazy, or be considered an enemy...Then they would hate me."_ Jen's head lowered even further.

Marcus stepped onto the cable car, the first thing he noticed was the sad look on Jen's face, he thought even saw her cringe a little, _"That's right...she looked that way before she entered the station."_ He walked closer and sat next to her before snapping her out of her thoughts, "Are you okay?"

Jen's head popped up, she looked over to Marcus unsure of what to say seeing how she didn't catch his words, "I'm sorry, what?"

Marcus repeated, "Are you okay? I mean...You looked sadder than the Princess did before we kidnapped her. What's up?"

Jen sighed she then said, "I'm just not feeling well, that's all. Maybe it's from all this traveling."

_Lie._

Marcus looked down to the ground, "What did you do before you traveled?"

Jen thought before she answered, remembering her occupation before all of this happened, "I took care of elderly people and people who needed long term care...after being injured in battle. I also took care of my brother and on my spare time I played the piano."

Marcus let out a small laugh, "What? So you fight, take care of others, and play music, is there anything you can't do?"

Jen nodded her head, "I can't feel a thing."

Marcus raised an eyebrow, he didn't get what she was saying, "Wha-What do mean by that?"

Jen answered his question by grabbing his hand and looking at him, "You can feel my me touching you right? Well I can't feel your hand. So that's what I mean." She placed his hand down and looked away, "Sorry."

Marcus was thrown off by that, _"Is that what's bothering her?"_ He tried to relate to the situation, "My friend Blank, he can't feel a thing either, in fact, he's probably worse off, I dunno if I can save my bro."

Jen looked back to Marcus and nodded her head,_ "He's trying to cheer me up by comparing my situation to Blank's, even though that's not what's bothering me. I guess I could look at it in a lighter perspective...I'm not dead, it could be worse, so I guess for now I should stop worrying about it and what happens, happens."_ Jen gave a light smile to Marcus.

Dagger heard the last 8 words of the conversation going on between Marcus and Jen, "...Bro?"

Marcus turned his face to Dagger, ""There's only one man I call 'Bro.' That's Blank. We've been gathering info to cure his petrification. We finally learned about an item called Supersoft that cures all forms of petrification."

Dagger asked, "What about Cinna?"

Marcus replied, "Cinna's going to the Tantalus hideout in Lindblum to tell the others."

Dagger looked down thinking on Marcus had just said, "I see..."

Marcus then stated teasingly,"I see you got rid of Zidane as soon as he got you to Lindblum, huh?"

Dagger shook her head, "How could you say that!? It's only because Zidane kept treating me like a child! I don't care about him."

Marcus shrugged, "Fine. Then I don't know anything."

Dagger felt bad for what she had just said, she did care for Zidane, she sighed thinking about Blank and how Marcus was on his way to Treno, "Say, Marcus... Um, is there any way I can help?"

Marcus turned his head back to the Princess, "Help with what?"

Dagger couldn't believe he was that dense, she told him her reasons with a feeling of guilt, "Well... I was partly responsible for what happened, so..."

Marcus declined knowing that it would be troublesome if he accepted her help, "No, thanks. We'll be fine on our own."

With that the cable car came to a sudden halt causing jerking everyone backwards or forward in their seats, Steiner shouted, "What was that!?"

Jen jumped to her feet, she knew what it was she brushed passed Marcus and was the first one out the door knocking the conductor down onto his butt.

Marcus shouted out to her, "Hey, wait!"

The conductor announced, "The rest of you please wait here while I go see what the problem is, it might just be engine trouble."

Dagger looked to Steiner, "Then why did Jen go running out there?"

Steiner shrugged, waiting for the conductor to come back in.

A scream was heard and the conductor ran back inside the cable car, "It's a demon! A demon with a pointy hat!!!"

Dagger the said out loud, "A demon with a pointy hat?" She looked to Steiner who nodded his head, they then both stood up and ran out the door.

Marcus who still sat in his seat was puzzled by all this, "What's wrong?" He stood up and ran out after them unsure of what he was getting himself into.

Jen looked to everyone as they made their way outside, "Looks like you didn't beat this thing Steiner, he's a persistent one."

Marcus was confused still, "What's going?"

The 3rd Black Waltz then said, "Mission...retrieve...princess...alive..."

Steiner unsheathed his sword, raised it and declared, "Monster! I'll finish you off this time!"

Dagger looked to Steiner, she held up her hand trying to stop him, "Wait, Steiner!" She looked to the Black Waltz, "Tell me something! Why do you want to capture me?"

The 3rd Black Waltz seemed to only be able to repeat his words like a broken record, his voice sounded scratchy and almost raspy, he was shaking badly, Jen began to wonder if he could still fly with the way he was moving,_ "He would probably crash into a building. I wonder if it was by chance that he found us..."_

Steiner who was still being overprotective shouted, "Princess, it's too dangerous! Please stand back!"

The Black Waltz repeated himself, "Mission...retrieve...princess...alive..."

Marcus held his broad sword ready to attack the monster, he shouted to Dagger, "It's no use! It doesn't understand!"

Jen nodded her head and gripped her ronin sword she shouted to the Black Waltz, "We're taking you out for good this time!"

The 3rd Black Waltz then screeched, "Eliminate...all!"

Jen thought to herself, _"Huh..It can say something else."_

The 3rd Waltz then raised his staff at Steiner, he struck him pretty hard on the head, it was a good thing he had on that rusted armor to protect him. Steiner countered his attack by striking him in the shoulder. Marcus attacked his left leg, the Waltz countered with fire on Marcus and Steiner. Dagger quickly used cure on the two men fighting. Jen then ran at the creature she swung her ronin slicing at the Waltz's rib cage. Steiner attacked again aiming for the head, it seemed to do some damage. The Black Waltz then used his staff to strike Steiner. Marcus ran at the Waltz and struck him in the rib cage as well. The Waltz quickly countered with fire on Steiner and Marcus. Dagger once again used cure on the guys. Jen started to wonder why the Waltz wasn't attacking her, she figured it was her turn and ran at the Waltz who was starting to use a familiar attack. As Jen ran at the Black Waltz, he started to cast thundara, it hit her sword acting as a lightning rod as she plunged it into his heart, Jen's eyes were wide. Suddenly Jen was consumed in a bright light, the last thing she heard was her friends calling out to her in a fury of panic and worry, and the explosion that came after.

Jen opened her eyes which focused on white walls. It was strange, she recognized it it from somewhere. She slowly pulled herself up into the sitting position, she looked around at a dresser which held brushes and perfumes. She looked down to the floor, noticing the brown carpet and the purple throw rug that seemed to have some wear and tear. She suddenly realized she was in her room. Jen stood up and walked over to her door, she held the door knob for a moment wondering if she had a crazy dream, she turned the door knob and slowly made her way to the kitchen in her trailer, familiar laughter could be heard.

Jen walked over to the couch she saw Ryan slouching in a kick back manner and Josh was sitting on the floor leaning up against the green couch.

Josh turned his head around to Jen as he could see her reflection through the T.V., "It's about time you got up, we were starting to wonder if you were even alive."

Ryan looked up to Jen and said in a relaxed tone, "So are we going to set up for that garage sale or what?"

Jen blinked, unsure of what to say, she had completely forgotten about the garage sale, she felt like she had to ask, "What happened after I got home?"

Josh answered, "You were acting whiny because you had to stay over an extra hour at work and you said you were going to take a nap. You've been sleeping for 3 hrs and we still don't know what you want to sell."

Jen sighed realizing that it was in fact a dream, that events such as getting sucked into one of your favorite video games just doesn't happen, she replied in a sad tone, "Well just don't get rid of Final Fantasy 9."

Ryan sat up and looked at her in confusion, "Final Fantasy what? 9? What's that?"

Jen looked to Josh who also looked puzzled by her statement, she wasn't sure what to say or how to respond to this, "You know what it is, it's a Playstation game."

Josh asked his big sister, "Jen what are you talking about? What's a Playstation?"

Jen again blinked realizing what was going on she nodded her head and said, "That's not funny, in fact that's very mean. What were you guys doing before I came in here?"

Ryan shrugged, "I honestly don't know what you're talking about and we weren't doing anything before you came in."

Jen was starting to get mad, "What do you mean you weren't doing anything? You had to have been doing something."

Josh then said, "We weren't. You came home and went to sleep."

Ryan walked over to Jen, forcing her into a hug, "Welcome home."

_"This...This isn't real. It's a dream."_

Jen closed her eyes as Ryan held her, she opened them to find herself standing in a cloud of smoke, she then heard familiar cries calling out to her. She turned her head to find Marcus running over to her.

Marcus was glad to see that Jen was ok, he asked in a worried tone, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Jen smiled and shrugged, "I dunno but I'm happy I'm here."

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	13. Chapter 13

**Yay! I recieved lots of reviews! Thank you so much. Criticism is much appreciated. Some. Lol.  
**

**I don't own.  
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As Zidane, Freya, Vivi, and Quina made their way out of city of eternal rain, Burmecia; Zidane found himself thinking about 2 girls, one being Dagger and the other being Jen. To be honest, he liked them both, just in different ways, _"Right?...I can't possibly like them both that way. Their personalities are different. Dagger is beautiful and she has an amazing voice. Jen is...spunky, even though she's older than me, she's like a little sister. Yeah, I like her as a little sister. But I wonder if Freya is right about Jen, what if she is a spy? That would change everything between us. Will I end up fighting her again? Will we end up killing her?...No, I don't want to think that, Jen's not a spy, she just happens to know things...Who am I kidding? She knew about the Hilda Garde 2 which hadn't been released to the public. Maybe she is acting as a spy; I wonder where she is. Is she with Dagger? If she happens to be a spy, she better not any bring harm to Dagger_."

Freya glanced over to Zidane who had been quiet for some time, she knew what he was thinking, _"It's hard to accept that someone you trusted was an enemy to begin with."_ She figured it would better if she steered his mind away from the thoughts troubling him, "When I was little I was told that it didn't rain in Burmecia for an entire day. I've always tried to imagine what it would look like if the sun shined down on this city. I'm glad it rains, it preserves our history and it wouldn't be home without it."

Before looking to Freya, Zidane looked up to the sky, cool wet drops of rain lightly beat against his face, "Preserves history huh? I'm suprised this place hasn't flooded...Let's hurry and get out of here, I'm soak an' wet."

Freya smirked, "We only have to cross past this valley before the grass turns to sand, we should be there soon if you stop staring at the rain."

Quina who had recently joined the party in his/her quest for food was growing rather hungry, for she did not find any tasty's in Burmecia. Quina looked to the small mage who had been pretty quiet,_ "He looks tasty..."_

Vivi felt someones eyes on him, while questioning many things he couldn't help but return Quina's stare, "I-is there something wrong?"

Quina quickly shook his/her head, "No."

Vivi had dealt with enough to keep his mind occupied for a while, he blinked deciding to drop whatever issue the Blue Mage had with him, "Oh, okay."

Zidane looked over to Vivi, he almost pitied the mage and maybe felt the slightest tinge guilt that he was here questioning his own existence because of him, he shook his head,_ "No, it's not my fault. I know Vivi is stronger than what people give credit to him. He can handle this. As long as I'm here, he'll be okay."_ With that thought Zidane nodded his head, "Let's go."

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Marcus cocked his head to the side Jen couldn't very well see his eyes but she knew they were practically bulging out of his sockets, "You penetrated a monster with that sword and at the same time you were electrocuted, how the hell are you okay?"

Jen began to smirk but it soon faded as a rush of pain started from her head and quickly made its way down to her legs hit her. The pain was unbearable, she collapsed to her knees and fell to her side, the pain was so much that she could bearly let a small cry escape her lips.

Marcus stood in shock, he turned to the princess and the knight as they were now rushing over.

Steiner then barked at Marcus, already accusing him of something he clearly didn't do, "What did you do!?"

Marcus defended himself, "I didn't do anything, I don't know what happened."

Dagger said in wonder as she quickly pulled out her rod to heal Jen, not knowing if it would be enough, "Steiner, I thought she couldn't feel anything after the attack on the cargo ship. It was the same Waltz, do you think that last attack he used reversed the effects?"

Steiner stood dumbfounded for the moment, before remembering the attack on the cargo ship, he remembered Jen being undneath a pile of boxes and how she couldn't feel a thing; he answered honestly, "It's possible."

Jen began to curl into a ball shaking, she looked to her skin, she noticed it was moving,_ "My skin...is my blood boiling...?"_

Dagger looked to the two men standing nearby, "It's not working, I don't think my Cure is doing much, do we have anything else?"

Marcus started digging in his pockets, he pulled out a remedy and an elixir, "This is all I have, will this work?"

Dagger grabbed the remedy from Marcus, she opened the vial, she tried offering it to Jen but she was shaking too much, as she tried offering it a second time she bumped the vial causing the liquid inside to slosh, spilling a tiny bit. Dagger shook her head, "It's no use, she's moving too much."

Marcus looked over to Steiner, "We can try holding her down while you give it to her."

Steiner didn't like the thought that Marcus came up with the idea, and he also didn't like the thought of working with the thief, he sighed and rushed over to Jen, he held down her left arm and shoulder. While Marcus grabbed her right arm and right shoulder, both men lying her flat on her back.

Dagger reached around Steiner and grabbed Jen's head slightly lifting it up she said to her, "Drink this, it might help."

Jen opened her mouth, she drank the remedy in gulps, some of it started to run down the side of her lips. It took only seconds that she stopped shaking, she laid there staring upwards, still in pain. It hurt for her to breathe, blink, it even hurt when she twitched. She felt pressure on her arms, she looked over to Marcus and then over to Steiner.

Marcus then got off of Jen and pulled out the elixir, he knelt down next to Jen opening the vial, "Here, this should help too."

Jen sipped on the vial this time as it hurt to swallow. She felt some of the pain go away, not all of it.

The conductor soon appeared out of the air cab, "We'll be leaving shortly." It was obvious he wasn't trying to be rude, as they just saved him and the people on board.

Steiner stood asking, "Miss Jennifer, can you stand?"

Jen slowly sat up, she nodded her head.

Marcus wasn't satisfied, "Too slow, let's go." He scooped Jen up into his arms and looked around, "Got everything?"

Dagger nodded her head.

Steiner then shouted, "What do you think you're doing!? Don't you have any respect for women!?"

Marcus looked over to Steiner, "Oh, sorry, did you want to carry her?"

Steiner couldn't believe the thief was mocking him, he was caugh off guard by his attitude, "No, I certainly do not!"

Marcus shrugged walking off to the air cab with Jen he said as a half hearted joke, "Pity."

Jen could not believe what had just happened, "I can walk you know."

Marcus ignored her at first, "You weren't moving fast enough, we have places we need to be and this guy wants to go. Just be grateful."

Jen was angered by what he had just said, she thought of kicking him but decided it would probably be better if she didn't. She didn't want to make any of Zidane's friends mad, it wouldn't do her any good. She just sighed as Marcus carried her into the air cab and sat her down in the same spot that she had been sitting before all this happened.

Dagger and Steiner re-entered and took their seats. The conductor sealed the door shut and they were on their way once more.

Dagger said as the air cab continued dagger spoke in a low voice, "Why...? Why...? What did he want with me?"

As Steiner said her name, you could tell that he was about to give her another lame excuse, he also spoke in a low tone, "Princess..."

Marcus cut in and stated, "Burmecia was attacked by an army of black mage soldiers..."

Dagger nodded her head, "I know..."

Marcus then said, "Those mages wiped out the people of Burmecia..." He wasn't saying this to be mean, he was just telling her what she needed to know.

Steiner said without thinking through or even looking at the big picture, "Who would do such a thing?"

This made Marcus mad, "Are you serious!? How ignorant can you be!?"

Steiner was mad because a low life called him ignorant and because he still didn't get it, "What do you mean!?"

The passengers on the air cab were now looking at them as if they were crazy, they turned away as Marcus and Steiner looked around. They waited for the awkward silence to disappear before continuing.

Dagger spoke again in a low tone, "Stop it, Steiner... I know who did it."

Steiner looked to Dagger he couldn't believe that she would know something that he didn't, he honestly believed that the Queen would never commit any crimes, "Princess?"

Dagger said slowly, "We're almost in Alexandria...I must go to the castle and see my mother...She'll listen to me."She sounded nervous at first but as she finished her sentence she sounded more confident.

Steiner who was sitting next to the Princess rose and walked to another part of the air cab checking things out. He had reason to be curious about the cable cars.

Jen who still felt pain sat next to Marcus, not saying a word, she knew they would arrive soon and make their way to Treno. She figured now was a good time to get some rest, even if she couldn't fall asleep at the moment, just sitting was relaxing.

Dagger sat across from Marcus in silence for some time before saying, "I think we're almost there."

Marcus asked, "So, you already heard about the attack on Burmecia?"

Dagger nodded her head,"Of course. I'm not like Steiner."

Marcus seemed a bit impressed with the Princess, she wasn't the same princess that Tantalus kidnapped from Alexandria, "You've changed."

Dagger who was happy to hear this asked, "Me? You mean the way I talk?"

Marcus shook his head, "Not just that."

Dagger sighed, "Well... A lot has happened. Oh, speaking of which...!"

Marcus looked up, "Yeah?"

Dagger said happily, but used this as her approach, "I've been through tons of battles. I'm a seasoned pro, now!"

Marcus was confused by what she had just said, "What are you talking about?"

Dagger said automatically inviting herself and volunteering Steiner's help and Jen's help thinking and knowing they wouldn't mind, "We need to find Supersoft and save Blank, right?"

Marcus knew that this wouldn't go over well with Baku, in fact it would probably be more of a chore than a help by dragging the Princess and that knight along. He glanced to Jen knowing that she might not be up for this, he sighed, "You're gonna come along, even if I refuse, right?"

Dagger said with excitement in her voice, "Of course I am! This is so exciting! I've always wanted to see the marvelous architecture of Treno. I can hardly wait!"

Marcus looked away thinking,_ "On second thought, she hasn't changed that much."_

The brakes on the air cab were starting to kick in, Jen could feel her body shifting back, it reminded her of an amtrak train. She was beginning to feel embarrassed, "_Great, I'm going to be dead weight to these people."_ Jen looked at her hand remembering how her skin was boiling, that had to be one of the scariest things she had seen or at least in the top 10.

Marcus turned to Jen, he noticed that she was in her own world, "Hey, we're here, can you stand?"

Jen looked to Marcus, she thought for a second before nodding, "Yeah, I'll be fine." She lied, she was still in pain. She reached below her grabbing her ronin sword and stood up. She held herself up by holding onto the seat for support, the first few steps hurt the most for she had been sitting and not moving too much. Jen followed Dagger, Steiner, and Marcus out of the air cab, out of the four of them she was the last one out.

The conductor stepped out and made sure he said, "Take care. The road splits up ahead. Go right to reach Treno, and left to reach Dali. This car is returning to the summit. You can't go back."

Dagger and Steiner nodded to the conductor as thanks.

Dagger then turned to Jen and asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Jen smiled, she knew they were all concerned about her but she still didn't like being asked the same question, "I'm still in pain but that's probably cause my nerves are shot. I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow."

It was Steiner's turn to show some concern, "Don't push yourself."

Marcus chimed in, "I don't wanna have to carry you again."

Jen glared at Marcus, "I didn't ask you to carry me, you did that on your own, I could have made it there."

Marcus started to walk off, "Sure. Let's see if you can keep up.

Jen watched as he walked off, she looked up to the sky and realized how late it was getting,_ "Wow, a lot of things happened today_. _I wish I could've seen Cleyra_._ Too bad Brahne has to go on a power trip and destroy it."_ She trudged along starting out slow, she soon caught up with the others as they had left her behind. Jen watched the way Dagger walked, she remembered when she played the game how Dagger had this weird girly walk. She still did. Jen also remembered how she tried to intimidate that walk,_ "Funny, she wanted to learn how to talk like a commoner and I wanted to walk like a princess. I wonder what she would say if I told her that_."

The four of them finally reached the fork in the road. Marcus then reminded everybody, "It's this way."

Jen followed and asked, "You must come through here a lot."

Marcus nodded as they walked along the dirt path, there was some stone embedded into the dirt but the path seemed so old that all of the stone that was set must have corroded over time, "We like to do business here."

Steiner growled under his breath, "You mean you like to steal here..."

Jen figured it would probably be best to avoid any kind of conversation that involved work or lifestyle. She hung her head slightly,_ "Maybe it's just better to avoid conversation period. Someone is bound to get angry."_ As she looked down, she noticed she was standing on some wood with cracks, she also noticed the gorge below her. She blinked, "Oh my gawd!"

Everyone turned to her, worried that there was a fiend.

Dagger saw there was no danger, "What's wrong?"

Jen who had not moved an inch, in fear of falling down pointed, "I'm on an old wooden bridge that obviously needs repairs and you expect me to cross over?"

Marcus stared for a moment; he couldn't believe that a bridge had her shaking when earlier she wasn't afraid to charge down a Waltz, "You're half way over, just keep walking, you won't fall."

Jen swallowed the saliva in her mouth, she could feel the cool wind hitting her face, she noticed the mist down below. As dangerous as the mist was, it still looked pretty from up above and it still reminded her of fog. She hoped that the thief was right, she slowly inched over to a huge gap in the bridge, she paused looking up, "What now?"

Marcus felt like beating his head against a wall, she was wasting time by acting like this, "Just jump."

Jen was getting angry, _"Oh sure, that's easy for you to say, you're used to this stuff. I'm just gonna leap to my death. Oh gawd I hate heights."_ Jen let out a breath of air, she stood straight and leaned back before jumping over the gap, as she landed she quickly ran to the other side of the bridge where the others were waiting. She smiled to them, "Okay, I'm good."

Dagger smiled back, she was glad to know that she wasn't the only one who was scared of heights,_ "She can easily show emotions without any hesitations."_ Dagger then motioned for everyone to follow, "Let's hurry so we can save Blank."

The two guards allowed the four travelers to pass through as Steiner flashed the Gate Pass. The sun had gone down as they made their way towards Treno and they fought against 2 Carve Spiders and a Trick Sparrow before they came across a ghost.

Jen stared in astonishment, she didn't exactly expect or think she would run into a ghost, it looked so real. The ghost asked for some ore and Jen searched her pockets, "I don't have any ore."

The ghost looked to Dagger with pleading eyes, to no avail she too did not have any ore.

The ghost looked to Marcus who sighed as he pulled out an ore, "Here, take it."

The ghost swayed back and forth, it even did a back flip and and said as it disappeared, "Thanks, give my regards to Ladybug."

Jen raised an eyebrow,_ "A ladybug?"_ She hurried over to the others as they began walking towards a well lit city that could be easily seen in the pitch dark, she felt a cold breeze and began to pick up her pace, "Let's get out of the cold."

Marcus sneered, "That's what we're trying to do"

Jen stuck her tongue out at him behind his back, it was definite, she didn't like Marcus one bit.

As they made their way into the city, Jen couldn't help but notice the guys guarding the gate appeared to be rather lazy, as if they didn't take their jobs seriously. It just seemed like they looked to be bored.

Steiner, who had been fairly quiet throughout the trip spoke to Dagger, "This is Treno, the City of Nobles.

Dagger stated with confidence in her voice, "We need to find out which noble has the Supersoft."

Marcus informed the over confident Princess,"There aren't many nobles living here. The nights are long. It's a great place for thieves"

Steiner then felt the need to accuse the thief, "People like you turned this city into a slum!"

Marcus rolled his eyes, he couldn't wait to find their needed treasure, he was tired of the knight hounding him, "...Let's steal the Supersoft and get this over with."

Steiner was appalled, he couldn't believe what he had just heard There was no way an Alexandrian knight such as himself would ever disgrace Alexandria by stealing, "Steal!? How dare you! Do you think I'd let you commit a crime before my very eyes!?"

Marcus tried to reason with the stubborn knight. There was no other way they would get it as rare as it was, "How else will we get the Supersoft?"

Steiner wouldn't have it, he was sure there was another way to get the Supersoft, "Quiet! I will not allow such disgraceful behavior"

Marcus was beginning to raise his voice, "I never asked you to come along. Quit complaining."

Steiner still insisted that they do things the right way, and he didn't like the lip he was getting from the thief, none of his men would ever talk to him like that, "Don't you talk back to me! First of all-"

Jen watched as Dagger walked off, she knew that the Princess was tired of the bickering, it was a shame because Jen wanted to hear the rest of Steiner's rant.

Marcus then said cooly, "Uh-oh."

Steiner then chastised Marcus as if he were a five year old, "Do not interrupt me while I'm talking"

Marcus said calmly, he was relieved to get Steiner focused on someone else, "Look behind you."

Steiner was hesitant to fall for that joke but reluctantly turned and shouted as he did so, "What!? Princess, I urge you not to...!!" He saw that she was nowhere to be seen, "P-Princess!?"

Jen noticed that Marcus was starting to walk off and there was no way she was going to get stuck with Steiner in Treno, she followed him as he headed towards the inn. She heard part of Steiner's rambling but his voice faded as they got away from him. Jen ran up to Marcus, catching up to him she asked knowing where they were heading, "So where to first?"

Marcus looked to Jen, _"Couldn't get rid of her...Well at least Rusty isn't bugging me."_ He replied to her, "I'm going to a local inn to get information from the owner about the Supersoft and to meet up with the Boss."

Jen nodded her head as he finished his sentence, "Does that make that person a thief too?"

Marcus thought about it before replying, "I guess you could say he is."

They turned left and followed a man wearing a green shirt inside the inn, he seemed to be staying the night at the inn as he walked upstairs where the rooms were.

Jen then told Marcus, "Maybe I'll take a nap. Wake me up when you guys find something out about the Supersoft, okay?"

Marcus agreed, it was probably better to have her out of his hair when talking to the Boss, he gave her 200 gil, "Here, use this."

Even though Jen had her own money, she took the gil and gave it to the inn keeper. The inn keeper pointed up and told her that the bed were up there. Jen nodded and thanked the man as she made her way up the wooden stairs. Jen came up to a small hall way that was poorly lit, there was row doors, six to be exact. She slowly made her way to the fourth door, she knocked on it, hearing nothing she slowly clutched the door handle and let herself in. The room was pretty dull, a black curtain covered the window blocking out any light; the room was dim with a only single candle burning. It allowed Jen to see her way to the bed which she happily plopped down on, she sat for a moment thinking about everything, she lied down and drifted to sleep.

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**I'm going to stop here**.** Not permanently. Lol. I'll update soon!**

**And as always, your review could save a life, possibly this story's life!**

**-Huggyssupreme**

**=)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the long wait kids. I've been busy. Thanks for your love!  
**

**I don't own.  
**

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Eight footsteps crunched their way through the sand in silence with, the wind blew softly but strong enough for the travelers to feel the need to shield their eyes each time a gust picked up. Between the sun and the wind the group was able to dry off fairly well. After having just defeated a Sandworm it was obvious that there was some competition going for Freya wore the grin and Zidane walked with his head hung down, moping, "No fair, you had the blue mage on your team."

As Freya knew the monkey tailed thief was referring to Quina she said enjoying his moments of defeat, "You wanted to pick first, it was your fault. You should have known Vivi needed an ether, he hadn't had one since the fight with Beatrix. Also Quina didn't find any food in Burmecia so it was natural that he or she ate a monster."

Quina licked its lips in satisfaction, the Sandworm tasted better than the bats she last ate while in Burmecia, "I taste better but it still was yummy."

The tree was getting closer to the group as they trudged along. The sight alone was enough for Freya to want to pick up her pace as if it wasn't fast enough. The events from earlier still plagued her mind,_ "Who is this man named Kuja? How is he connected in all of this? That child that was with him, how could a child so young be so cruel?"_ The dragon knight remembered Zidane mentioning something about the child and felt the need to inquire about him, "That boy that was with this Kuja, you said he is Jen's brother, correct?"

Zidane held his hands over his eyes as another gust rolled through, it was going to take weeks before he could get rid of the sand as it was in his hair and in his clothes. As he followed behind Freya, he responded remembering the detailed description he received from Jen on the old cargo ship before they had reached Lindblum, "Yeah..." Zidane replayed the image of Josh murdering that guy who was looking for Jen, he said out loud while still in thought, "He killed his own friend...Who was that guy?"

Vivi held on tight to his hat in hopes that it would not fly out from his clutches, he stumbled every so often when the gusts were pretty strong. He had been hanging onto every word that was being said asked out of curiosity, "Are you going to tell Jen?"

Zidane glanced over to Vivi, the small mage had not been interested in most of the conversations that went on until now sighed as he answered honestly, "I'm not sure." He asked openly for some advice, "What should I do?"

Vivi who still held onto his hat, had also been struggling for an answer, though it was different than this, answered his friends question from his heart, "Tell her the truth."

Zidane shook his head, he couldn't imagine how upset Jen would be, to have to tell her that the little brother she had been looking for murdered her friend and possibly had a hand in the attack of Burmecia. He thought about what Vivi had said and sighed, "You're right Vivi."

The sun was now blocked by the sandstorm that protected Cleyra. Freya had been looking down as the winds had picked up, she was glad to hear that Zidane would tell this Jen of what they knew. Freya raised her head and saw the tree was right before them she now shouted as the sound of the wind picked up, "The tempest subsides." She kneeled down onto her left leg, "By the gods!"

Zidane who at first did not understand what she meant and now realized her inner turmoil was subsiding, quickly said as another gust picked up, "C'mon, let's go while we can!"

Freya stood and turned to see Zidane, she noticed a dead tree was suffering whip lash she said loudly, "Indeed. Let us press on."

Quina who continued to amuse Freya with his or her care free attitude shouted over the sounds of the high winds, "Must hurry, must find yummy-yummies!"

Zidane followed Freya as she led the group onto a bridge, he paused as he looked up to the tree, which was covered in moss and had some flowers growing up towards the top. It had to have been the biggest tree he had ever laid eyes on. The roots itself were also a sight itself to witness. The thief clearly had never seen anything like it in his life. They crossed the long bridge and made their way into a small tunnel which was covered with more roots and sand, Zidane had a feeling that they would be seeing a lot of that.

Freya walked over to an ancient door, she ran her fingers along it feeling that it was made of steel, she looked over to Zidane, "There should be a lever somewhere."

Zidane noticed a set of stairs that was supported by a root to his right, they too were covered with sand, he turned around to see Vivi looking up and Quina sniffing the place out, he figured he would be doing the leg work and ran up the stairs. He found an old rusty lever in a circulor form that was also covered with sand, he brushed it off and pulled the handle up towards him as hard as he could and heard the door open. Zidane turned to Freya who had gone through, he ran down the stairs, "Wait!" He ran out and saw that Freya was gone, he also noticed a treasure chest and couldn't resist the impulse to go check it out. He quickly opened it and grabbed the phoenix down, he ran uphill and turned around to make sure Vivi and Quina were right behind him which they were. Zidane called out again as he made his way to the next room, "Freya!"

Freya who was kneeling in the sand and checking out some Magician Shoes stood and turned towards Zidane thinking it was important as he called out, "What is it?"

Zidane chided the dragon knight, "You shouldn't go running off like that! You don't know what's ahead!"

Freya gave Zidane a sharp look, "For someone who lost the Festival of Hunt, you don't give me much credit. I'm fine on my own, in fact I'm sure I've fought more monsters than you."

Zidane argued, "These aren't just any monsters that you can find in the mist, and what if Beatrix was up here? She would've knocked you flat like last time."

Freya let out a breath of air, she could see Zidane's point but she knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself on her own but she decided to fight him on this subject later, "Then let us continue together."

Zidane who was satisfied with that answer nodded his head in agreement to Freya's suggestion. He continued to let Freya lead the way out of respect. Her people lived on this tree, not his,_ "As if I have people..."_

The group followed Freya on the winding path out from the thick overlapping roots that led them up the tree. Zidane noticed that Freya turned left rather suddenly

Freya called out to everyone, "Careful not to fall."

Zidane ran out he had to stop himself from going over, in a short time they had climbed up fairly high, "Whoa!" He looked up to Freya who had either jumped or climbed up the vines that seemed to tangle together, it appeared that she was checking out another door, "Is there another lever?"

Freya stood and looked around, she noticed the small path that led upwards. She pointed and ordered, "Take Vivi with you and follow that path, there might be a lever over there."

Zidane nodded and looked over to Vivi, "C'mon, let's go."

Vivi nodded his head and followed Zidane up the path.

They made their way into what appeared to be a dead end, Zidane walked over to a treasure chest pulling out an ether, he looked around, "Now what?"

Vivi who was now standing next to the treasure chest looked over the edge and peered down, he stood up and looked around trying to help Zidane. Vivi noticed a root had been sticking out, he made sure not to run into it and made his way next to Zidane. He pointed to a small hole, "What's that?"

Zidane looked down at the hole, at first he thought it was nothing but then again this was an ancient tree, he shrugged figuring he hadn't much to lose and stuck his hand in the hole. As he was reaching around he felt a metal sticking out, he pulled on it until he heard a click. Zidane stood up and looked to Vivi to praise him but he could see that his small friend was looking at something else, "What's wrong Vivi?"

Vivi pointed to the sand that had not been pouring until Zidane had pulled the lever, he was a little nervous as he wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, "There's sand."

Zidane looked at the sand and he hesitated before speaking, "Let's see if it opened the door." Zidane ran out with Vivi behind him making sure not to fall off the tree, he looked to Freya who stayed with Quina, he saw that the door was now open and was glad to know that Freya waited for him. Zidane looked at the enterance they came through, it was now being flooded with sand. He climbed up the first set of vines and onto the ledge before climbing up the next set of vines and ran into the next room. It reminded him of a sandy cave as he followed Freya and Quina, it was a fairly spacious area and his eyes caught another treasure chest in it were a pair of Magician Shoes,_ "I'll probably give these to Vivi."_ He stood and noticed Freya was standing waiting for him to hurry up, he picked up his pace as the dragon knight went off into the next room, he slowed his pace and asked, "Isn't it strange that we haven't ran into any monsters yet?"

As he finished asking his question a wave of sand knocked him backwards, he quickly jumped to his feet and unsheathed his Orge prepared to attack. Zidane looked up at the huge Sand Golem that was now in front of him. Even though it was sand, the Sand Golem appeared to have abs and bulging muscles that a wrestler would have, it was a little intimidating for Zidane.

Freya jumped to Zidane's side, her Mythril Spear was in her left hand and ready to swing. She said in an annoyed tone as she landed next to the thief, "You had to ask."

Zidane grinned as he gripped his Orge getting ready to strike, he knew that he had upset her, "You know how I like to have fun."

Freya rolled her eyes, she looked to Vivi who held his lightning staff and was already beginning to cast Thundara. She looked over to Quina and smile as he or she held its fork and did it little sway that he or she did whenever fighting. Freya watched as Zidane struck the Sand Golem's red core which brought the thing to life. She held her spear and attacked the monster slicing near the core, she knew it would be pointless to attack the sand itself as it would just regroup.

Vivi then took a shot at the monster by casting Fira around the Sand Golem, it melted some of the sand away and it seemed to be effective as firey embers struck the core.

Quina then jabbed his or her fork into the sand monster, it was obviously hoping to make that Sand Golem a snack.

The Sand Golem then sucked in a large amount of air and breathed sand out all over knocking the group that was attacking him backwards.

Sand fell off of Zidane as he stood up, he still held his orge and attacked the Sand Golems' core, it made a slight crack but it did not defeat the over grown sand-man. The Sand Golem then countered the attack by wailing his huge fist on Zidane sneding him flying.

Freya decided to take her chance by jumping up and piercing the red core of the Sand Golem as it began to pull back. The Sand Golem let out a loud scream, sand blew everywhere as the monster began to fade away.

Zidane stood up sheathing his Orge, he walked over to Freya as he looked at the red core which was now shattered into pieces, "It's amazing what one rock can do."

Freya stared at the shards and nodded in agreement, she turned and began walking up the sandy path deciding not to quote a proverb.

Zidane notcied yet another treasure chest, he smiled to himself as he opened up the chest pulling out a Needle Fork, he glanced over to Quina as he or she held a plain fork, "Hey Quina! I have something for ya!"

Quina who had been sniffing around a sandy waterfall turned to face Zidane, "What is it? You find yummy-yummies?"

Zidane shook his head, he thought it was funny how Quina was always thinking about food, "No, I found a weapon you can use."

Quina took the weapon from Zidane and examined it. He or she tossed its Fork into the sand and happily sheathed its new Needle Fork and put it away, "I find no tastys here."

Zidane followed Freya and Vivi up the sandy hill, he almost had to grip onto a root to help pull himself up but he managed to make it up his own strength. Another treasure chest happened to catch his eye he opened it and pulled out a tent, something that would prove to be very useful. He walked over towards a moogle and watched as Vivi exchanged letters with it, he thought it was amusing and an interesting way to keep in contact with the moogles who seemed to help out whenever they needed to set up camp.

Zidane noticed that Freya and Quina were already gone, he looked over to Vivi who ran past him, he followed Vivi. They arrived at a set of stairs and still no sign of Freya and Quina. He saw a treasure chest on the left set of stairs, "Vivi, wait there while I check out that chest over there."

Vivi nodded his head, "O-okay."

Zidane ran up the set of stairs and quickly pulled a tent out of the chest, he ran back down towards Vivi, he was trying to hurry so he could catch up with Freya and Quina, he didn't like the buddy system too much. Zidane ran up the stairs on the right, his pace didn't slow much when he came across an old wooden bridge. He stoppped to make sure Vivi was behind him, he found the small mage standing before the bridge, it was known he was scared for only a moment as Vivi then ran across trying not to drag the group down. Zidane and Vivi found Freya and Quina standing before three sets of tunnels.

Zidane paused for a moment, "Which one do we take?"

Freya turned towards Zidane, "The tunnel on the left is the only one we have not yet gone through."

Zidane was glad to see that they at least waited for him, he was still curious as to wat was down those other two tunnels, "So did you find anything good down there?"

Quina shook his or her head, "Me still no find yummy-yummies. I keep looking."

Freya smirked as she saw Zidane shake his head, she knew what he meant, "Yes we found some treasures. I even pulled a lever that could lead us to another chest but we'll only know if we keep moving forward."

Zidane nodded his head and followed Freya through the left tunnel. As they came through the tunnel, Zidane noticed a small passge leading upwards through another tunnel, "I'll be right back." He ran up into the tunnel and saw a treasure chest he ran over to it and noticed the lever Freya mentioned. He opened the chest and pulled out an elixir, he stuffed it into his pocket and ran back to where the others were waiting.

As Freya saw Zidane return she then led the group down the path that would eventually lead them out of this maze. She stopped suddenly, almost causing Quina to run into Vivi and Zidane into Quina, "Careful, there's quick sand up ahead, who knows where you'll end up if you happen to fall in." Freya was the first to cross through the quick sand, she watched as Quina and Vivi managed to make their way through, she was actually surprised. Freya honestly thought that one of them was going to get sucked in, she then watched as Zidane tried to get the treasure chest that was directly in front a quick sand, "Zidane, just leave it! It's probably a trap!"

Zidane shook his head, he sounded like an addict, "No! I'm positive that there's something good in here, I can feel it!"

Freya watched as the hopeless thief made to the treasure chest, he pulled out what appeared to be an elixir. She watched as he took a step back, his foot then slipped and he fell into the quick sand. Freya still stood, remaining in the same place, she wore an annoyed expression, "Now I'm going to have to get you out of there."

Zidane struggled as he was going in circles while being pulled in, he shouted back still keeping his cool, "This is nothing." He tried pulling his legs upwards, they felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each, but it seemed to work so he started moving his legs faster. Zidane's legs then felt light enough that he quickly jumped out landing next to another quick sand. He inched away from the quick sand, walking along the sides to be sure he didn't fall in again, he finally made it to the clearing.

Freya then asked, "Was it even worth the trouble?"

Zidane smiled, "You know it was."

Freya sighed refusing to argue with the head strong boy, she turned away and kept moving on. A huge gust of wind mixed in with sand hit her face as there was no wall protecting the passage, only what was left of it and that wasn't much. She covered her face and rounded the corner quickly, trying to get away from that as fast as possible. Freya looked up and saw that there was an old ladder made of wood and vines, she questioned the safety of it before gripping it, it felt sturdy enough to her.

Zidane noticed a treasure chest behind the ladder, he also noticed the how the sand storm protecting the tree seemed to have an orange tint to it. He ran over to the chest and pulled out some Gysahl Greens,_ "I can give these to Choco."_ He ran back towards the ladder noticing that Vivi and Quina had already gone up, he then climbed up as well. As he climbed up he saw a set of stairs, again he was left in the dust, he ran up the set of stairs noticing that everyone else had stopped. Zidane then saw two rats clothed in green robes wearing a funny yellow hat, they looked like the rats from Burmecia excpet their fur was lighter and they each had a black stripe on their faces.

The rat on the right looked to Freya, examining her before asking, "Might you be Lady Freya?"

Freya stepped forward, replying with the same formality, "Indeed, I am."

The rat on the left then said, "I am Satrea, this here is Kildea, we have awaited you coming my lady." Satrea bowed slightly as he introduced himself.

Freya who apparently did not these people asked out of curiosity while still upholding, "How did you come to know of my identity?"

Kildea replied to Freya's question with a hint of a smile, "The king of Burmecia has requested that we guide you to him."

Freya who was more than happy to learn this information then shouted, "Long live the king! Take me to him immediately!"

Satrea bowed again slightly, "At once my lady."

Freya turned to see Zidane, she had some business to discuss with the king, "Zidane, I shall go to see the king. Why not take this chance to rest?"

Zidane gave a nod, he knew that king who was facing a disaster like this would have nothing to say to him, "Yeah, good idea."

Satrea then motioned for Freya to follow, "This way my lady."

Zidane watched as Freya left with Satrea, he turned to Kildea who then offered to guide him around the town. Zidane declined, he wanted to explore on his own. He walked towards the stairs checking the place out, "Kind of a strange place, don't ya think? Hey, Vivi and Quina, let's just poke around the town a little, okay?"

Vivi responded in an uncertain tone, he remembered how the rats in Burmecia treated him when he was just trying to help, he felt that Zidane had forgotten this but he didn't want to remind him, "Uh...OKay. Let's."

Quina responded with a positive outlook, "I go search for tasty munchies!"

Zidane figured that both Vivi and Quina would be fine on their own and that they would all meet up when Freya was done talking to the king. He let out a yawn which was a sign to him that he was tired which wasn't much of a surprise to him, he had gone up against the general of Alexandria who wasn't an easy opponent. Zidane then decided he would find an inn somewhere and go take a quick nap before he scoped this place out for treasures.

* * *

"AAACHOO!"

Jen sat upright in bed, she blinked and rubbed her eyes wondering what that noise was,_ "It sounded like a loud..sneeze...I wonder if it's Baku_." Jen stood up, she made her way to the door, she opened it and closed it quietly, she turned to the stairs gripping the banister and quickly made her way down. Jen looked to the innkeeper who was watching her and smiled at him.

The inn keeper informed Jen, "You slept for 2 hours, you sure you got enough sleep?"

Jen nodded her head holding back a yawn, she replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I thought I heard a sneeze."

The inn keeper wasn't sure if he should tell her that Baku was down there talking with Marcus, he wasn't told that Baku was expecting more visitors.

Jen stared at the guy as he wasn't being as chatty as before. She looked to the other set of stairs and made her way for them, she could feel the inn keepers eyes on her as she slowly walked down the steps.

Baku heard the steps on the staircase creak, he looked up to see Jen and asked in a suspicious gruff voice, "Who're you?"

Marcus turned around to see Jen cringing for being caught, he let out a sigh that indicated he was annoyed, "That's Jen, Zidane helped her escape Evil Forest and she's traveling with the princess now."

Baku examined her for a moment before replying, "So you're that Noble that carries wads of cash on ya. I see that's how you repay my boys after I give you some weapons for free."

Jen felt sheepish for getting caught but she felt a little enraged that Baku was assuming that she was unappreciative, "That's not how it is, I am grateful."

Baku shrugged a little, "Well if yer so grateful then you can help Marcus here retrieve the Super Soft."

Jen always wondered how it was they found the time to locate the item, "So you've found it. You must have had some extra eyes. Where is it?"

Baku nodded his head, "You ferget, I'm the leader of Tantalus. It's located in an old store and being that it's locked up at night we can't just go bargin' in there, we would cause another scene. I rented a boat so we could sneak in the back through the sewer."

Jen was slightly amazed at how well planned out this was, "So when do we start?"

Marcus looked over to Jen, "As soon as the Princess arrives."

* * *

**Heh.**

**That was a long chapter.**

**Please fell free to review!**

**-Huggyssupreme**

**=)**


	15. Chapter 15

**I didn't get much love on my last two chapters. That's why I stopped. Reviews keep this story going.**

**Thanks to those who did review!  
**

**I don't own.  
**

* * *

_Jen was slightly amazed at how well planned out this was, "So when do we start?"_

_Marcus looked over to Jen, "As soon as the Princess arrives."_

_------  
_

Jen sighed to herself as she was already growing impatient, she began to wonder just how long this was going to take_, "I dunno why I'm in such a hurry to steal something, it's not like I need the Super Soft for anything. Well I guess you could say I need it to help Blank but Dagger and Steiner are going as well, so why am I so anxious?...Maybe it's because I've never stolen anything in my life. Oh no, please tell me I'm not getting some form of pleasure out of this."_

Marcus watched Baku as he began to head towards the dock, he turned around and noticed that Jen's face had changed from curious to frightened rather quickly, he found himself wanting to know just what was exactly on her mind, he was intrigued_, "Wait, why do I care what she's thinking about?"_ He stepped back as he did not want the answer to this question, he snapped Jen out of her thoughts, "Hey, go look for the Princess, we're wasting time."

Jen looked at Marcus with a raised eyebrow, she knew Marcus could be bossy sometimes but this was pushing it. Jen watched as he shifted uncomfortabley when her eyes met his which in turn caused Jen to ask, "What's your problem?"

Marcus stared for a moment unsure of what to say, he felt like he was put under the spotlight being interrogated by security guards. It wasn't a feeling he was used to feeling and all he could respond with was what he really didn't want to say, "Right now, it's you. This is a very important mission so try not to get in the way or mess it up."

Jen blinked, she knew she should have expected a smart mouth answer from him but it still hurt. After everything they had been through together she thought that by now they would have been somewhat friends. She still looked at him in the eyes but this time with an intense expression on her face with the feeling of rage running through her veins, "Oh, sorry you feel that way..." Her voice trailed off as she turned and ran up the stairs making her way to the door which she slammed knocking a picture onto the ground.

Marcus started towards the stairs feeling guilty for what he had said but was surprisingly soon stopped by Baku who had appeared what seemed out of nowhere said, "It won't do ya any good to go after her when she's mad. It's best to let 'em cool down after a guy delivers a blow like that."

Marcus turned to face his boss, he felt embarrassed that he had an audience and began to explain his actions, "But I didn't mean it, that's not what I meant to say, I dunno why I said that."

Baku was somewhat amused by this and started to laugh a little as he started to suspect something, "It'll be fine, she'll find the Princess and cool down. In the mean time, you need to finish preparations." and think about what you've done and stop getting your personal affairs mixed up in our work.

Marcus nodded his head, he didn't what had come over him, he sighed and followed Baku downstairs.

Jen had made her way to the Cafe Carta where a bunch of Nobles were sipping on their coffee talking about who was at the Auction house. It made Jen wonder if that's where Dagger was, she turned to her right and walked away and was soon standing in front of the stadium where the card tournaments were held, she looked down into the water staring at her reflection and the reflection of the stars that covered the entire sky she couldn't help but wonder how they managed to get a walk way in the middle of a lake. This truly was a sight itself. She looked back at the cement and began walking up a flight of stairs through a tower. Jen heard an echoed hiccup and turned her head to her right to find a man who was sipping the sauce, he obviously appeared drunk. Jen didn't pay him any mind and walked up another set of stairs where she found an old man and a dog chasing a moogle. Jen thought of approaching the moogle to ask if he had seen Dagger pass through but decided she would find out for herself. She then crossed a bridge trying not to stew over what Marcus had said, it was pretty mean. Jen looked up just in time, as she was about to bump into a pair of nobles who were talking about the items they had purchased, they didn't even seem to notice her as if she didn't exist. She made her way to the door of the auction house and slowly pulled it open to find rows of benches filled with nobles who chatted amongst themselves as the auction was now in intermission. Jen spotted Dagger down the aisle and followed her gaze as she was looking up at the balcony, there she saw a man with silver hair wearing a white and pale blue jacket, she immediately knew who he was and whispered underneath her breath in amazement as she didn't think she would run into him, "Kuja..."

Kuja looked down at Jen knowing who she was, he looked down to the small boy who had been accompanying him for some time now, "Josh, take a look."

Josh who had been sitting on the floor against the balcony, waiting for Kuja to finish his business here, slowly stood to his feet and turned around to face the crowd, he looked down and saw a familiar face, his older sister.

Josh looked to Kuja who was now smirking and said in thought, "This was unexpected...Let's see how this plays out..."

Jen's eyes widened as another figure now came into view standing next to Kuja, her lips trembled at the sight, "J-Josh?...Josh!!!"

The auction house went silent, heads and eyes now focused on Jen, even Dagger was looking at her with a shocked expresion, probably because Jen had scared her, she asked quickly, "Is that your brother?"

The auctioneer looked up to Kuja who nodded his head, the auctioneer took that as a cue to call forth the guards, "Security!"

Two men wearing purple armor then appeared what seemed out of nowhere to Jen, they approached her with their hands on their swords waiting for the order to wield them. The auctioneer then ordered, "Escort those two out of here at once."

One guard grabbed Jen and the other grabbed Dagger and lead them out of the auction house. Jen struggled with guard causing him some grief, he then picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Jen turned her head around to the guard and started kicking and punching him while shouting, "Let go of me! That's MY brother up there! I have to save him!"

Dagger who went peacefully unsure of what was going on, watched as Jen made a scene, causing everyone around the auction house to stare, it was slightly embarrassing, she couldn't help but turn her head to get a last glance at her brother but the door was quickly slammed behind them. The guard holding Dagger let her go while the other guard still held Jen captive wondering if he should take her in as she was assaulting an officer. Dagger took a step forward and used the same stern voice that she used on Steiner, "Jen, please calm down."

Jen couldn't find it in her to calm down as thoughts were racing in her head and she couldn't comprehend the question she kept asking herself,_ "Why is Josh with Kuja? Why!? What does this mean? Was he kidnapped? He didn't appear to be held hostage, he just stood there looking at me. Is he with Kuja? If he is, what does this mean? What is going on!? It's okay, I'll see him again. I'm sure next time I'll get some answers, I just have to go along with this."_ Jen looked up to Dagger who was now standing with her arms fold on her hips, she took a deep breath and said to the guard, "It's okay, you can set me down."

The guard set Jen down and took post at the entrance of the auction house to imply that Jen and Dagger were no longer welcomed inside. Jen looked over to Dagger and started to walk away as she said, "Sorry about that...I uh...I was suppose to find you to let you know that Marcus has found the Super Soft so we can go save Blank, we just have to meet him at the inn."

Dagger looking at Jen, blinked, she followed her and asked, "Did you know that man, the one accompanying your brother?"

Jen shifted at the question,_ "That's right, Kuja was lurking around the castle and Dagger has seen him before."_ Jen knew who Kuja was but she wasn't going to tell her that, she answered carefully and in a sense did not lie, "I've never met him before."

Dagger was now prying as they walked down the stairs in front of the weapons shop making their way to the inn, "Your brother seems to know him. Why did he ignore you? You've been looking for him all this time, it's strange."

Jen swallowed the saliva in her mouth, she wondered just how long she could keep this lie going, "Yeah. I guess that's why I made such a scene back there, sorry about that."

Dagger started to wonder if Jen was telling the truth, the look on her face was telling her something different, she seemed almost scared, it made her wonder if she should be scared as well,_ "Ever since that man showed up in the castle, Mother has been acting odd, it's frightening. Jen couldn't have any part in this but what if her brother has a hand in this? He's so young..."_ Dagger shook her head and said what she probably meant to say for herself, "Don't worry about it."

The two ladies made their way back to the inn in silence, both lost in thought, thinking of the recent encounter. Jen opened the door of the inn for Dagger and allowed her to go in first, Jen wondered if it was because she was a princess or manners out of habit. She figured she would go with habit, there was no way Jen was that loyal of a subject. Jen saw Marcus standing there with Steiner, it appeared as if they had been arguing before they entered. Jen couldn't recall hearing any shouting, maybe it was because she wasn't paying attention. She smiled and said happily, "I found Dagger, we can get this show on the road!"

Marcus stared for a second, he was sure that Jen would still be mad from before, it was shocking that she was so cheerful, he couldn't wrap his mind around it, it was confusing,_ "She was so mad earlier. What happened?"_ Marcus didn't know how to act and informed everyone, "We're ready to retrieve the Super Soft."

Dagger was also caught off guard by this sudden change in behavior,_ "Wow...Amazing...She can go through three sets of mood swings in an instant, it's almost scary." _Dagger was happy when she heard that Marcus had found it, "Good! At last, we can save Blank! When do we leave?"

Marcus said in an ambitious tone, it was obvious he was in a hurry, he was also disappointed that Dagger was going as well, "We can leave right away. So you're coming along, huh? Are you ready? What about you Jen?

Dagger quickly responded delighted that things were moving smoothly, "Let's go."

Jen nodded her head wondering why he asked twice, "Of course I'm going."

Steiner became quite panicky, "Princess! Princess Please wait!"

Marcus ignored the knight, "The Boss's waiting at the dock."

Dagger was still confused as to his boss was, "Boss? You mean..."

Marcus responded confirming Daggers belief, "Yup, there's only one man we call 'Boss'."

Jen couldn't believe that Dagger had to ask Marcus who his Boss was. The three of them made their way to the dock with Steiner following and shouting frantically, "Princess, please wait! It may be a trap! You cannot trust criminals! Think of the consequences! You are a princess! If the queen hears about this...Princess!"

As they approached Baku, Jen looked at the wooden planks that kept her from falling into the water, she began to wonder just how sturdy they were,_ "Well if Baku is still standing, it must be safe."_ Baku looked down to the Princess and asked her to make sure she was aware of this, "Princess, do you know that breakin' and enterin' is a crime?"

Dagger nodded her head, "Of course. I need to make sure you guys don't steal anything else."

Marcus climbed onto a brown boat, "Let's go."

After Dagger got on Steiner said in a defeated tone, "Dammit! I am coming along. It is my duty to protect the princess from bad influence!"

Marcus said harshly to Steiner, "Do whatever you want."

Baku was a bit irritated and told Steiner, "Always talkin' about yer duty. Ain't you got thoughts of yer own?"

Steiner quickly defended himself and was cut off, "Don't you talk back to me! I am escorting the princess-"

Baku was trying to make a point, but he wasn't getting very far with this knight, "I thought you might've changed after travelin' with Zidane, but...you ain't changed. Do you even know why you're here?"

Steiner was perplexed, he didn't get what the thug was getting at, he knew why he was here, "Wh-What do you mean!?"

Dagger was annoyed with this idle banter, "Let's just go."

Baku looked down to Jen, "And why are you goin'?"

Jen shrugged and wittily replied, "For the Hell of it."

Baku shrugged back, "Fair enough, get on."

Jen climbed on and sat next to Dagger, Jen moved out of Baku's way as he got on. He stood at the back of the boat and shoved off using a large paddle. Steiner stood at the front of the boat, though his stance told he was at attention, it was obvious he was lost in thought. Jen watched as Dagger stood up and walked away, she traded places with Marcus who then sat next to her.

Marcus didn't know why Dagger was pacing around, it rocked the boat causing him to become nauseous, he sighed and looked over to Jen still curious about the small blow out they had, "Hey."

Jen moved a stray hair out of her face, she wasn't really in the mood for small talk, she was always bad at that. She decided to acknowledge Marcus's presence with a smile, "Hey."

Marcus fumbled with his words, he didn't want to upset her again,_ "Maybe I should just leave it alone, apparently she's not mad anymore, but why?"_ He swallowed the spit in his mouth, "You were kind of mad earlier...Couldn't help but notice that you're not anymore. Whenever Ruby gets mad at Blank, she stays mad for what seems like forever. No matter how many times Blank apologizes, she doesn't let up. However when you get upset you get over it pretty fast."

Jen wasn't going to tell him what happened in the auction house, not yet at least, it wasn't any of his business, "So is that a bad thing? Forgiving people too easily? Would you want me to stay angry?"

Marcus quickly shook his head, "No, no, no. It's fine. I'm just not used to is all."

Jen laughed, "Sounds like that Ruby is a handful." Jen had to say it as if she didn't know who Ruby was, she had never met her.

Marcus laughed with Jen, "She can be but she does help us out a lot. Being in Tantalus, it's better to have friends with connections."

This now perked Jen's curiosity, she didn't know that much about Ruby because she had such a minor part in the game, "So what kind of connections does Ruby have? How does she benefit your club?"

Marcus's eye twitched, "Tantalus is not a club. We're a band of thieves, jack of all trades really. Anyway Ruby ran a bar in Alexandria, she used it as a safe house for us. She helped us get clients who were usually nobles who wanted us to steal from other nobles. Now Ruby is starting a theatre in hopes of repairing the Prima Vista."

Jen was a bit disappointed, that wasn't the kind of information she wanted to know about Ruby,_ "Ah well, maybe next time."_

Baku's voice broke everyone's though as he announced "Alright, we're here. I'll stay an' guard the entrance, you guys go in an' look for the Super Soft."

Marcus saluted Baku and Jen started to make fun of him for doing so, "See, it is a club, you even have a secret hand shake."

Marcus gritted his teeth, never in his life has he heard someone especially a female make fun of Tantalus. It was the troupe that little boys wanted to join and mothers were scared of, "It's not a club!"

Jen shrugged, Tantalus kind of reminded her of the Little Rascals but with a different hand salute. She climbed off the boat and started walking towards the door as she put her hand on the door handle she turned back and said to him, "Whatever, let's get this over with."

Marcus looked at Jen for a moment with a grin, "That's the wrong door."

Jen's face was starting to turn red, in her attempt to appear cool, she failed.

Dagger placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.

Marcus got off the boat and walked over to a black door that was about 20 feet away from where Jen was standing. He pushed down on the door handle of the metal door and began walking up the stairs. Dagger followed closed behind him as Steiner did to Dagger. Jen took her place in line behind Steiner, it was amazing how long the knight could remain silent, especially during a secret mission. It didn't take them long to reach the top of the stairs. The room before them was cluttered with boxes full of junk and papers, the place obviously needed to be organized.

Steiner looked around it was obvious he didn't want to be here, "How are we to find Super Soft in this mountain of boxes?"

Marcus replied determined to retrieve it, "Just find it."

Steiner groaned and began searching each separate box rustling papers around. Dagger moved the boxes aside in hopes that it would appear in front of her. Marcus started making a pile of boxes that he had already searched. Jen walked over to a table that was cluttered with useless objects, it was a wonder how someone could let a room go to Hell like this, she ran her index finger along the table collecting dust that formed into a thick layer of dirt, "Gross." Jen walked further into the room, she noticed that they were walking on painted concrete, her eyes followed the pattern to a long counter, she looked around recognizing where they were and whispered to herself, "The Synthesis shop...?"

Dagger stood up quickly, "Someone's coming!"

Jen turned to see that everyone was inching behind a shelf to stay out of eye line. With lighting form the candle in front of Jen, she could see that Marcus and Steiner were prepared to wield their swords, it was a little scary in that lighting. Even though she knew who it was, she was still on edge, she had never seen a huge talking owl before. It wasn't exactly normal.

The man's voice could be heard as he made is way down the winding stairs, "Oh, I can't believe I ran out of ink on a night like this. I must find more ink and go back to the observatory..."

Marcus gripped his sword, his was ready to pounce this guy, he asked in a voice that would terrify little kids, "Should I take care of him?"

Dagger hesitated as the man came into her line of view, she immediately replied in a high pitched whisper, "Wait!" She ran up to the old man.

Steiner panicked and whispered, "Princess! No!"

The old man had been staring into space until someone blocked his view, he looked up, "Hmmm?" He fumbled his words as he didn't expect to run into her here, "Y-you're...!"

Dagger cut in, as it was a common habit of hers to cut interrupt her teachers, "I've missed you, Doctor Tot."

Doctor Tot was still somewhat speechless, it was a surprise, "P-Princess! Princess Garnet!"

Steiner ran forward to make sure that's who Dagger was talking to, he sounded a little ashamed for being caught in this place, "Doctor Tot?"

Marcus sheathed his sword and stood up from his crouching position and inquired, "You know him?"

Steiner turned to Marcus he was shocked that he didn't know who the great scholar was, he practically bellowed as he informed Marcus, "Doctor Tot is the highly respected scholar who tutored the princess!"

Doctor Tot turned to Steiner remembering how the knight didn't know how to use in his inside voice, he began to wonder if he even had one, "Ah, Master Steiner. You must be quiet or you'll wake the shopkeeper. But Princess, what on earth are you doing here?"

Dagger sounded tired as she replied, "It's a long story. We're looking for Super Soft right now."

Steiner got a bit frantic as it sounded as if they had broke in, he quickly tried to explain, "There is a proper reason for this! We are not here to steal, or commit any form of crime-"

A mans voice interrupted Steiner from upstairs, he sounded a little worried, "Is somebody down there?"

Everyone froze. Doctor Tot then quickly whispered, "Run along! I will give you Super Soft later. Go left from the Treno entrance, and continue until you find a large tower. The tower is my home. It's locked, but I shall unlock the door and await your arrival."

Dagger was the first one out the door with Steiner hightailing it right behind her. Marcus grabbed Jen's arm whispering, "Now's our chance so don't dawdle or you'll get in trouble!" Marcus ran still holding Jens arm, he let go of her and quickly climbed into the boat, he turned to her, "Hurry!"

Baku used the paddle to force the boat to move, Jen stood there as the boat was starting to move, she ran towards it, "Hey, wait up!" She jumped to the boat, it was an epic lunge as she missed the boat and was only was able to grab on with her arms with her legs dragging in the water. Jen's face turned red as Baku started laughing at her. Dagger grabbed Jen's left hand and pulled her into the boat. Jen sat down and looked up to Dagger and smiled full of embarrassment , "Thanks."

Dagger shook her head while grinning, "Any time."

Marcus explained everything to Baku who was silent while paddling the boat, he was obviously thinking of how he should go about this. The ride back to the inn seemed a lot quicker than getting to the Synthesis Shop. Jen was the last to get off the boat, she trailed behind everyone all the way up the stairs and ladders.

Baku finally spoke, "So, this Tootsie's gonna give us Super Soft?"

Marcus corrected, "It's Tot."

Baku let out a loud sneeze, "ACHOO!" He made no discretion of what he said next, "Whatever. I can't believe Tantalus is at the mercy of some old man. Hmph. I guess we gotta keep babysittin' the princess."

Marcus whined, "Still?"

Baku reasoned, "He ain't gonna give you the Super Soft unless you're with the Princess. That's the deal, Princess. I'm askin' you to take Marcus to this Toot."

Marcus corrected, "It's Tot."

Dagger informed the boss as this was her intention already, "I was going to, anyway."

"Well, get some rest before you go. I'm sure Ted needs time to prepare." Baku only said this to be nice, it was obvious he wanted them to go now.

Marcus again corrected his boss, "...It's Tot."

Baku shrugged, "Whatever." He kicked the door open and was gone just like that.

Jen asked in amazement, "Where's he going now?"

Marcus watched as Baku rounded the corner, "Back to Lindblum. Boss can't show his face in Alexandria yet, it's still too soon."

Steiner snarled, "That's what he gets for kidnapping the princess!"

Jen shook her head, "Oh no, not this again! Let's go get the Super Soft now!"

And away they went!

* * *

**Haha. I had a headache when ending the chapter. That's the reason behind those four words! Lol**

**I hoped you enjoyed it!**

**Please review!  
**

**-Huggyssupreme**

**=)**


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